


The Fate of Persephone

by Dark_Lady_of_Time



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: 10, Bonds, Comfort, Doctor - Freeform, Doctorwho - Freeform, Escape, F/M, Family, Fate, Friendship, Hurt, Phobias, Self-Harm, Slowmance, Soulmates, TARDIS - Freeform, TenthDoctor, Timelady, Timelord, Trust, doctorwhofanfiction, eventual-romance, mentalillness, poor-doctor, running-away, timetot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 21
Words: 45,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28368306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dark_Lady_of_Time/pseuds/Dark_Lady_of_Time
Summary: The Doctor gave up long ago of ever finding his 'Amarthin,' his bonded.  But when he visited the house of Jackie Tyler one day, soon after his regeneration, his senses were flooded with the tell-tale signs of her!  But the road for the two would not be an easy one, as eighteen-year-old Persephone still believed she was human and had a crippling phobia of making connections with people.  It would take time and effort, but the Doctor was convinced that with love and hard work, he could help Persephone save herself.This is a 'slowmance,' where the OC starts off underaged and then her relationship with the Doctor grows over the next 30 years.  I want to show that you don't have to have love at first sight to be an interesting fanfiction.
Relationships: Tenth Doctor/OC
Kudos: 15





	1. Copyright and Disclaimers

Obviously, I do not own the Doctor Who franchise, so all aspects (including characters and storylines) THAT ARE FROM THE SHOW do not belong to me.

That being said, much of this story is new material that came from my own noggin. Therefore, any attempts at copying them would be plagiarism. 

And I will find you🐶 (That's a bloodhound to track your scent) Just as I do with other authors, if you see someone copying my work, please alert me.

Of course, I understand that fanfictions are tricky in that they all share the same materials and often the same storylines (time-jumping/soulmates/chameleon-arched time lord/ etc.) but I think we can all agree that the line between taking ideas from the same pool and outright copying and pasting them from other people is very clear. 

I have worked my rear off on this story and I am publishing it for the enjoyment of writing it and the enjoyment of those reading it. Please respect my story and the comments and opinions of your fellow readers. 

That being said...

Allons-y!!!


	2. Rose's Punishment

It was one of the strangest days of the Doctor's life. Certainly, the strangest first day of a new regeneration! First, he had crashed him and Rose near the Powell Estate, where he passed out because of complications during his traumatic regeneration. Then he dueled with the leader of the Sycorax for possession of Earth (losing and then re-growing his right hand in the process) and saved the world from blood control. After Harriet Jones took it upon herself to slaughter the Sycorax and everyone shared a great Christmas dinner, things were once again slowing down and it seemed that the evening was coming to an end.

But there was unfinished business that needed tending to that the Doctor was dreading. The issue lay with Rose, his human companion and great friend. The Doctor had known she had feelings for him stronger than friendship, but he was shocked and horrified when he found out she had butchered his beloved Tardis and broken one of the most sacred rules of time just to get back to him when he sent her home! While she had saved his life and while he was eternally grateful, her brashness and irresponsibility caused him to question how wise it was to lay the secrets of the universe at her fingertips.

But the Doctor, contrary to his own beliefs, was a forgiving person and he did not want to believe that Rose's selfish and careless actions were a reflection of her as a person and on every action she could make in the future. She was his friend and he wanted her by his side, traveling through time and space. But first, as the last living Time Lord, it was his duty to make sure that the sacred laws of time were upheld.

Therefore, when Rose asked him if he was going to continue his old life in the Tardis alone, the Doctor turned and looked her straight in the eyes. Ash from the destroyed Sycorax ship fell all around them like grim snow and the light from the buildings and streetlamps around them cast an ominous shadow over half of the Time Lord's face. A hint of uneasiness built up in Rose's heart as well as a twinge of fear. Right then, it seemed to her that the man before her definitely was not the floppy-eared leather-wearing Time Lord she had grown to love. He seemed almost like a stranger.

"Rose," he said, his voice soft, "Do you still want to travel with me?"

Rose let out an uneasy laugh, uncertain as to what the Doctor was getting at. "Well, yeah! Of course! I just thought that- maybe- since you changed- that you might not want me." The Doctor leaned back in surprise of her admission. "Oh no! No, I'd love for you to come!" Rose visibly sagged with relief and laughed. But her smile melted away at the Doctor's next words, replaced with a guilty expression.

"But Rose, you do understand that you could have distorted and possibly ended the universe today by opening the heart of the Tardis? I know you were only trying to help, but having that level of unrestrained impulsiveness and carelessness so close to the most powerful machine and secrets in the universe would be a crime against the laws of time on my part." By now, the young woman's eyes were fixed on her trainers, hurt but accepting of the reprimands she was being given. But she looked up sharply, hazel eyes wide with shock and despair when he spoke again, "That's why I've decided that it is best, both for me and especially for you, for you to take some time here on earth to gain some more experience in pressuring and complicated situations in an environment that isn't life-threatening or with whole planets at stake. That way, when you're done, we can head back into the stars knowing that you're more equipped to save the world without endangering it. Do you understand?"

Tears were welling in Rose's eyes, but she bravely met gaze, smiling in understanding and guilt. "I do, Doctor," she said, her voice cracking slightly at his name. The Doctor's own eyes softened with fondness and he reached out and brought her into a hug, which she returned with a sniffle. He rested his chin on her head and rubbed her shoulders and he said in a light, chipper voice "Oh don't worry! I'm not getting rid of you! What would I do without my favorite Tyler? This is just a temporary stop so that when we meet again, we can be Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum more effectively than ever!"

Rose had to giggle at that and said as she pulled away, "Alright, but you're Tweedle Dum!" The Doctor scoffed in mock offense and gave her a fond noogie. Rose broke away laughing, tears already dried. "And I've actually been wanting to go on this mission trip to Uganda that I'd been saving up for before I met you. Maybe I'll go and do that! It's a year and a half long and will give me all the experience you've mentioned." "Brilliant! The Doctor exclaimed, "Molto bene! And you still have Universal Roaming on your phone so we can keep in contact too!" Rose nodded. "It sounds like a plan!"

And just like that, the Doctor was once again alone in his little blue box, traveling through the stars.


	3. Many Meetings

Living on the London streets was a hard life, there's no sugar-coating it. One often goes an entire day or two without food and many days without proper showers or shelter. A life on the streets is reserved for those with no ambitions and the hopeless and the lost. They are full of criminals and druggies and sleezy people. No one WANTS to live on the streets. No one WANTS to be misplaced and homeless.

Except Persephone.

Persephone belonged in a category all her own. As an attractive eighteen-year-old female with intelligent eyes and a mellow spirit, it baffled all who saw her that she was homeless. And it was true, she knew, that she could easily enroll herself at some public school or get help from the government and kick-start her life back into gear, yet she didn't and chose to live as a stray, exploring the back alleys of London.

Of course, some part of Persephone's soul yearned for a home and a family and friends and she felt this nagging longing in her soul that she couldn't place. But whenever the thought crossed her mind to introduce herself to the police or some other responsible adult to secure her future, her breath froze and her lungs refused to let air in or out until she dismissed the thought altogether. Something about the very thought of having people look after her and care for her, the confinements of living as a proper adult citizen, and spending her life morphing to the demands of the world made her sick with fear and loathing. So much so that she ran far, far away and established a life on the streets.

However, running away was not as hard as you may think for a girl that was just twelve. Persephone never knew where she came from or who her parents were. She was found as an eight-year-old with no memories and no family on the doorstep of a London orphanage. Many parents looking to adopt a child were drawn to her intelligence and rare natural beauty but were always rejected by the child herself who, no matter how much she actually liked the couple, would always develop a fear of them coming near her when they intended to love and care for her permanently. For this reason, two more years passed in the orphanage without her ever being adopted. And every time a couple would leave, she would feel her hearts (she had two of them) clench sorrowfully.

At eleven years old, she was enrolled in the foster home system and spent two years bouncing from family to family, living in six homes in that short time, but always running away after only two months of care.

Finally, at fourteen, she ran for good, packing a bag of supplies and provisions she had been storing up and running from her foster family. None of the families had, in any way, abused her (in fact, they were all so kind and generous and really loved her) there was just this nagging in her soul-- this phobia-- of becoming part of a family and being cared for that made her run away every time, no matter how much she hated it. 

And it was so sad because to love and be loved was all Persephone ever wanted.

But now, at eighteen, Persephone was practically a grown woman. She was by NO stretch of the imagination stupid or stunted (quite the opposite actually) but her maturity and understanding of social norms and the ability to face her fears was non-existent in her. Her instincts often overthrew logic.

Living on the streets for four years had only reinforced her recluseness, encouraging her to keep to the shadows and back alleys and avoid establishing relationships with others. She became a master of the streets of London, able to navigate effortlessly by alley, backstreet, or rooftop. She was fluent in the art of avoiding people and she was filled with a wanderlust that forbade her to stay in one place more than a few nights (though she always stayed within London). Nearly every night, she slept somewhere new, finding materials and building herself a bed or nest in some hidden nook or covered doorstep. She sometimes would go to homeless shelters to shower and get meals, but she tried not to go to the same one more than once to avoid unwanted questions and relationships. 

When she wasn't exploring, Persephone loved to feed stray animals and watch birds. She enjoyed collecting things such as jewelry and other small lost valuables that she could sell at pawn shops for extra money. She also loved to (when she got the materials) graffiti abstract configurations of interlocking circles and half circles and quarter circles upon walls. Then, around six o'clock, she liked to go to a large park and sit on a secluded bench by a duck pond near a playground to watch parents play with their children. 

The that winter's day, the day after Christmas, the cold was bitter with biting winds. Fortunately, Persephone had had the fortune of finding a warm hoodie in a church basket with donations to the poor a few days ago, and it served to help shield her from freezing totally. It was a dark green, extra-large men's hoodie that was so big on her, it fell to her mid-thigh and caused her to bunch the sleeves all the way up her arms in order for her hands poke out. She loved it, though, as the pockets were large and it served well as a blanket and insulating tent at night. The cavernous hood was also good for keeping unapproached in the streets. 

Other than that, she had no winter clothing, just her black jeans that were torn across the knees and lower thighs and black converse high-tops that she adored. She had no phone or ID or any possessions other than the four-inch swiss army knife she treasured and some bottles of water and a half-empty package of Jammie Dodgers she found on a park bench in her drawstring backpack along with a wad of cash that amounted to about ten pounds she had collected. 

She had spent Christmas day at a local church, which was filled with people volunteering to serve the homeless dinner and entertainment so that they would not be alone that night after the alien scare earlier. Persephone had been extremely grateful for their kindness and had spent the entire day there conversing with them. Everyone (especially the women) adored her and she felt that if they could, they would have adopted her on the spot. She managed to wave off their concerns for her and managed to scrape up a few convincing lies to keep them off her back. By the end of the night, she had grown quite close and the women who, upon parting, made her promise to return, which she did without hesitation. Then she shouldered her bag and headed off into the cold.

She knew she would never return to them.

"That's rule one," Percy always said to herself sadly. "Persephone always lies."

She had spent the night in the warm boiler room of a rickety shop that always left its back door unlocked and rose before the sun and left without a trace before the shopkeeper arrived. 

It was noon now, the day after Christmas, and she was already about five miles away, wandering aimlessly in search of unexplored grounds.

Her wanderings brought her past a large flat complex that she had often passed by. It was the Powell Estate, judging from the sign out front. The area of calmed city around the building was one of Percy's favorite places to find refuge for the night, as there were lots of little hide-aways and kind people willing to donate food or clothes. It was a rule of hers, however, that she would never beg. The generous people must come to her. She would not stoop to begging.

So Persephone was walking down that street this day, hood drawn over her wild locks of umber brown hair that was almost black and her pale hands, burning with cold, rubbing together frantically in order to generate warmth. She was lost in thought, scuffing her numb feet through the thin layer of dust that was the space ship that had been exploded on Christmas, when she suddenly collided with something hard. Something that went 'Oof!'

Percy immediately backed up a few feet, mumbling apologies as she turned to head in another direction. But a voice (the person that stopped her, presumably) cried out "Hey, wait!" 

Persephone didn't wait. In fact, she picked up her pace so that she was at a near jog. People that called for her to stop usually wanted to get her help from authorities. 

But the guy didn't give up, trailing after her and calling in a kind voice "Hey wait! Wait a minute! Slow down! I'm not going to hurt you, promise!" When Persephone was sure she was a good dozen steps away from the guy, she stopped and turned to look at him. He wisely stopped as well and did not invade her space.

"What," she asked lowly. The man before her must have been in his early twenties. He was dark skinned with close-cropped hair and a round boyish face. He was taller than her by a good few inches, but immediately struck her as completely harmless. 

The man, now that he had her attention, suddenly seemed a little unsure of himself. He shrugged his shoulders and ducked his head in discomfort of his sudden spotlight, but finally said "Well, I mean, I've seen you before, walking 'round here and you're always alone and underdressed for the cold so I—I mean—I've got a friend who lives just here in one of these flats. She's the kindest woman I've ever met and I know that if you, I don't know, wanted to come spend the night with us, you'd be more welcome."

Persephone arched and eyebrow.

"No! No! I mean not 'WITH' us, I meant under the same roof. You can eat and get cleaned up and we can get you supplies and help if you need it," he quickly amended. 

Percy's fingers fidgeted nervously in her overlong sleeves. The offer did sound nice, and she was freezing to death out here, so she supposed one night under this man and his friends' hospitality couldn't hurt her. And anyways, she told herself, she could always run away and never see them again if need be. She looked up into the sky and saw an oncoming storm headed their way and, judging by the ferocity of the clouds, she knew she did not want to be outdoors when it hit. So she patted down her reluctance and said "Okay."

The man smiled. "My name's Mickey. Mickey Smith. Who are you?" He half turned and started to take a few steps in the direction of the Powell Estate, watching for the girl to follow. "Persephone," she answered, following a few steps distance behind him. "Huh, that's a nice name," Mickey replied. He thought he recognized the name from some Greek myth, but couldn't remember which and didn't want to embarrass himself. The girl also didn't seem eager for small talk.

As Mickey lead his temporary guest to their destination, he couldn't help but steal glances back at her. She was of average height for a girl of her age (he assumed her to be eighteen or nineteen) but she was clearly underweight. And he did not fail to observe the way her shoulders and knees shook with cold due to her under-dress and the way she kept her head downcast and her hood shadowing her eyes. 

He had seen her many times in the past, walking by the estate and occasionally passing through the buildings and petting stray cats, but he had never seen her speak to anyone and had never seen her smile or show signs that she was okay. He, Jackie, and Rose had often talked about her when they caught sight of her and sometimes expressed their wishes to meet her and possibly help her. But they could never catch her until today, when Mickey bumped into her by chance. He had seen his opportunity and seized it and low and behold, she accepted! He hoped Jackie could help her because he knew what it was like to be cast aside and never wanted that for anybody.

He led Persephone to Jackie's door and knocked loudly, calling "Jackie, it's me!" The door was quickly opened and Jackie Tyler stood in the doorway, warmth from inside flooding out, making Percy tremble in relief. Jackie instantly noticed and recognized her and pushed past Mickey and gently grasped her sleeve-covered hand. Normally, this action would have sent Percy running for the nearest ally way, but she was too exhausted to protest and the lady seemed to have no ill intent toward her. 

But she was always alert anyways.

"Oh you poor thing!" she exclaimed. "You're that homeless girl I've seen wandering the streets these last few years, aren't you?" But she didn't wait for a response and continued "Oh, look at your clothes! Come on inside right now and I'll make you a cup of tea and you can rest. I promise, you're in good hands now!" Still holding her hand in one of hers, Jackie wrapped her other arm around the trembling girl's shoulders and directed her inside, leading her to the living room sofa. 

As Persephone sat on the cushions, she thought she would melt in comfort. The heat from the flat was already thawing her frozen limbs and she was beginning to regain feeling in her fingers, ears, and toes. "Thank you very much," she said softly.

Persephone listened to Jackie continue to ramble as she went into the kitchen to prepare some tea (a beverage Percy had not had in a few months!)

The evening passed comfortably and amicably and Persephone was able to take a warm shower and eat a heavenly bowl of oatmeal Jackie had prepared for her. She was given some of Jackie's clothes to wear temporarily whilst she washed her own dirty clothes and warmed them in the dryer. Finally, they convinced her (after much, much pestering) to spend the night on the couch, and that she could leave in the morning if she wished.

Percy slept better that night than she ever had on the streets and when she awoke, she changed into her own clothes and ate breakfast with Jackie. Mickey had left the night before to go to his own home, but had promised to return in the morning. 

Persephone learned a lot about Jackie and her love of sparkly things and of gossip. She quickly learned that this woman talked non stop and would ramble about anything and everything until you cut her off to say something of your own (which she rarely did)! She learned about Jackie's daughter Rose and about how she was whisked away by some strange man with whom she ran off to far away places to have adventures with, leaving her all alone. 

Mickey joined them a while later and the trio talked and joked for a good few hours, before Percy began to feel that dreadful fear creeping up into her gut; the fear of becoming attached and dependent on people; the fear of belonging to a family. 

As time went on, she had to viciously push down the urge to bolt from the flat and find some secluded nook somewhere in which to hide and regain her wits. But she could see, out the window, that the storm from the day before was starting to lighten up and resolved to hang in there until I let up completely.

At last, she looked out the window again, and, seeing the sun beginning to shine through the usual clouds of London, she rose saying "The storm's stopped and I should be heading out now. Thank you so much, Jackie, for all you've done for me. Your kindness will not be forgotten."

Had it been anyone else, Jackie would have given them a big hug. But she got the feeling that such an intimate action would scare Persephone. So she just smiled warmly and said "You're welcome back any time you like! Please don't hesitate to pop in whenever you're in the area! I mean it!" Percy smiled and Mickey lead her to the door, where he handed her her bag, now supplied with a thermos of hot tea and a few chicken sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs. She was dressed once again in her jeans and hoodie, and as soon as the door was open, she felt the cold hit her in the face. She had refused to keep any clothes of Jackie's as she had inwardly noticed (despite the lady's kindness) that she was quite poor and did not often have the luxury of buying new things and Percy did not want to be responsible for taking even more from her.

Mickey stepped out onto the doorstep with her, hands in his pockets as Persephone shouldered her back and tucked her hair into her hood. "You know," he said at last. "You really are welcome back any time. I know you're independent, but you do have friends here that would love to see you every so often." 

Percy froze at his words, not quite knowing what to say. She realized that he had detected her sudden discomfort and scrambles for an excuse to leave and was trying to calm her enough to convince her to come back sometime! So she did what came naturally to her; letting her instincts take over.

"Yeah," she said, a soft smile on her lips. "I think I will." Mickey smiled happily and then waved to her as she walked down the road. 

He knew she never intended to come back.


	4. Could it Be?

Much to her surprise, Persephone found herself visiting Jackie and Mickey four times over the course of the next three months, sometimes only staying a few hours and sometimes spending the night. They began to seem to her as friends; the first she had ever had in her life! They didn't ask prying questions and spoke freely and joked with her. And to them, she also grew as one of their good friends, despite how she always fled from them in the end. 

Sometimes, she would leave as she had done the first time, with a formal farewell. Other times, panic would seize her uncontrollably and she would retreat into the bathroom or wait until they were out of the room and escape through a window or out the front door. 

But Jackie and Mickey, after talking amongst themselves after this event happened for the first time, agreed that Persephone was not taking advantage of their hospitality and merely being kind in order to take their food; no, they realized it had to be a psychological issue, something that, fueled by her life on the streets, caused her to fear making attachments. But they never brought this up to her and never scolded or confronted her about her sudden disappearances and reappearances. 

Over the course of her visits, Persephone remained shy and skittish, but visibly opened herself up to the two just a crack, allowing them to see into her true personality.

After her fourth visit (this one ending with a proper farewell), Mickey and Jackie were in her flat, watching telly, when they heard the familiar 'Vwoorp vwoorp' of the Tardis. They jumped from their seats and whirled around, seeing the familiar blue box beginning to dematerialize right in the middle of Jackie's living room!

Presently, the doors swung open and a familiar man with spikey hair and a blue suit poked his head out, eyes widening as he saw where he had landed. 

"Oi! What do you think you're doing, parking in my house?!" Jackie demanded, fists on her hips. "Oops," the Doctor said, cowering slightly under the piercing glare of the Tyler. "Meant to land outside. Guess the old girl thought this was easier." He patted the side of his ship lovingly.

But Jackie was having none of it, marching right up to him and poking a finger to his chest, saying, "'Thought it was easier', my arse! You'd better hop right back in and take your box out of my house before—"

But the Doctor suddenly straightened, eyes wide and alert and eyebrows raised in curiosity. All fear of Rose's mum vanished, as all of his senses, it seemed, were directed to the purpose of detecting or listening for something in the flat. He looked, Mickey thought curiously, like a dog who heard a faint rustle of some squirrel in some nearby bushes. 

The Time Lord then leaned down close to Jackie's face and asked in all seriousness, brows furrowed in concentration. "Who's been here?"

Jackie took a step back, startled by the Doctor's intense stare and deep-throated words. 

But the Doctor didn't wait for an answer. He pushed past the stunned woman and stepped out into the flat, his brown eyes scanning the room for some unknown thing. When his gaze had swept the whole room, not finding whatever it was he was looking for, he darted off into one of the adjoining bedrooms, Jackie chasing after him shouting questions and threats. But she was ignored, and the Time Lord whipped out his sonic screwdriver and began scanning around him, moving from room to room like a bloodhound on a scent. 

"What on earth are you looking for," Jackie cried after him. The Doctor didn't stop as he scanned the kitchen chairs and then the cups in the sink, shouting "Someone! There was someone here! I feel it. I know it. I know. Who was it?" He suddenly stopped rambling and grabbed Mickey, who was standing near him, by the shoulders and shook him as he shouted, nearly hysterical "Who was it?!"

Mickey responded immediately, alarmed at the Time Lord's behavior "No one! Just a homeless girl we've become friends with!" But the wildness in the Doctor's eyes didn't fade as he demanded "Where? Where is she?" "I don't know!" Mickey cried. "She left 'bout an hour ago, she could be anywhere!" 

The Doctor shoved Mickey aside in his mad bolt to the Tardis, where he plowed through the doors and dematerialized seconds after.

Mickey and Jackie were left gaping, open-mouthed at the spot the box had been. "What the hell..." was all they could say.

But no sooner had they returned to their respective spots on the sofa, when he Tardis returned, the doors barging open to reveal the Doctor once more, though he now looked completely out of breath and his cheeks and nose were tinged red from the cold air outside and his hair was wilder than ever. 

"I searched," he panted. "All of London. Up and down. I can't find her." He then looked at them with a seriousness that nearly frightened them. "If she comes back, you must hold her here for me and call me! You must!" 

His eyes were so wild and his expression so desperately serious that Jackie and Mickey found themselves nodding dumbly. But before the Time Lord could re-enter his box and fly away, Mickey recovered his wits and called out "But what for? Why are you so panicked about her?" 

The Doctor stopped and gazed sightlessly into the consul room as he formulated his words. "She..." he started at last. "She might be a Time Lord. Then he shut the doors behind him and the Tardis vanished from sight once again, leaving Jackie and Mickey utterly dumbfounded in shock.


	5. So Close

The Doctor hadn't told he whole truth when he had revealed to Mickey and Jackie that he thought the homeless girl that had visited them was a Time Lord. 

Ahem, a Time Lady. 

It was true that when he had entered the Tyler flat, his mind—the telepathic bond that all Time Lords shared—sparked and alerted him of another of his kind. He could feel it in his very bones that another with the swirling time vortex in their veins had been near and so very close to him! That thought alone caused his hearts to palpitate for joy.

But there was another reaction in his body to something wholly different; something that budded up from deep within his soul! A yearning and an unfathomable need to love and hold and care for this person whom he had never even seen! He knew what it was—hell, all Time Lords knew what it was! It was the call of their —-.

Well, the Gallifreyan word didn't translate into anything in English (or any other language, for that matter since it was exclusive to Time Lords) so the Tardis translator took words from Earth that closest resembled it. And it just so happened that the words it chose were from the languages invented by JRR Tolkien for his books about Middle Earth! 

The Amarthin (coming from the Sindarin word for 'Fated') was the name of the soul-bond between two Time Lords. It transcended all of time and space and lasted through all regenerations. Humans may call the two 'soul mates', but truthfully, this bond was so much more that.

From the beginning, when the first Time Lords looked into the Untampered Schism and were given their regenerations and all of time and space at their fingertips, they began to evolve. Like all humanoid species, Time Lords had a yearning for family and loved ones. But because of their new horizons, the chances of a Time Lord and Lady keeping up a relationship across all of time and space was depressingly small! Therefore, when the small time-tot looked into the schism, a bond was formed within their very soul with one—only one—other who alone could provide them solace and love. Their bodies were given an extra sense that enabled them to feel their bonded's presence in order for their chances of meeting to be greater. The Amarthin was sacred and breaking it (for whatever unfathomable reason that may be) was punishable by death, as the abandoned partner had nothing else to live for and would almost always end up killing themselves along with their children. Once the first spark of the bond was felt, Time Lords would never rest until their bonded was found.

And he sensed--- he knew--- that his was nearby! 

The Doctor made another sweeping scan of the whole of London with the Tardis before being forced to give up. It seemed to him that his bonded had some kind of mask or perception filter on her that shielded her from scans and other technology that would reveal her biology! It was only because of his unblock-able primal bond with her that he could recognize her when she was near. But now that she was so far and the bond had not yet been established (and she didn't even know he existed) his senses were dulled and she was lost to him.

The Doctor, for the next few days, couldn't decide if he was infinitely depressed or overcome with elation. On one hand, he had not only found a living Time Lord, he had also found his bonded, whom he had given up all hope of finding after the destruction of Gallifrey! But on the other hand, he was still so far from finding her and he wasn't even quite sure what to do once he did! The poor Time Lord spent all his energy either wandering the streets of London in vain hope, or in his ship trying to distract himself from his agony.

So when the phone on the consul rang, three days later (for him), the Doctor all but threw himself at it, grabbing the receiver and bashing it to his ear. "Hello?" He asked, holding his breath. 

"Hey, it's Mickey. I'm at Jackie's house and Per—the homeless girl you wanted to see is here. I don't know how much longer she'll stay or if she'll spook and run off, but you can try to stop by. Oh, but don't park the Tardis in the living room again, I don't think she'd respond well to that!" Mickey's voice was low, like he was trying to talk on the phone without anyone else hearing what was being said. The Doctor wondered why that was. Could it be because his bonded was easily scared?

"When are you," he demanded, holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder as he began the process of taking off. 

"March 11th, 2005 at 4:15 pm," was the response. "Right," the Doctor said, his chest burning with excitement. "I'll be right there! Don't let her leave!" The Doctor hung up and slammed the phone back into its place. "Come on, old girl! Come on!" he goaded. His faithful Tardis obeyed, she herself feeling uncontrolled excitement at the thought of finding her Thief's bonded and gaining another pilot! But she had to control herself not to dematerialize right on top of the girl to capture her, should she try to run away!

She knew that the Doctor had been cursed with having all of the people he loved torn away from him time and time again, and would succeed or die trying to keep his bonded alive and happy!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Mickey hung up the phone after talking with the Doctor and re-entered the living room, covering his nervous features with what he hoped was a relaxed smile. He couldn't help but feel this pang of guilt for arranging this surprise meeting behind Persephone's back! But it was just a meeting, right? The Doctor just wanted to see if she really was a Time Lady!

But as he looked at the teen, siting with her knees to her chest on the sofa, smiling politely while Jackie talked her ears off, he wondered how on earth she could be the same species as the Doctor! She was so quiet and timid and... human! 

Did she even suspect she was a different species?

But it wasn't the time for worrying. The Doctor had done so much for him and Jackie, Rose and Planet Earth, that he owed it to the alien to let him see if there was one other surviving Time Lord left in existence. 

He stepped up behind the sofa, hands in his pockets casually. The two women looked up at him when he started talking. "Hey, so I just got off the phone with a good friend of mine, and he said he needed to stop by for a few minutes to check something out." Mickey jerked his thumb over to where he had had the phone call. "I said sure, and he'll be here any minute." For an instant, Mickey's eye caught Jackie's and an understanding about who the 'friend' was instantly passed between them. They remembered their promise to the Doctor: Don't let her leave! I must see her!

Persephone, meanwhile, froze. She had come so far out of her shell these past few months and grown to care for these two people before her to the point where she hardly ever had the urge to bolt away. 

But now, someone new was coming over. Someone she didn't know. And she didn't miss the way Mickey's eyes avoided hers when he spoke and she didn't miss the look of understanding he shared with Jackie.

This had something to do with her!

In an instant, Persephone's mind raced with thoughts. 

'They called the police!'

'They contacted my old foster parents!'

'They contacted my foster agency!'

'They called in a social worker!'

'They're coming to get me!'

Blind panic overthrew her senses and all logic and reason was thrown right out the window. This was fight or flight. These next few moments would determine whether she remained free or ended up in some kind of legal system. She had been betrayed! She was in the home of people who wanted to trap her!

Before either Mickey or Jackie could even blink, Persephone had bolted off of the couch towards the front door, snatching up her bag in the process and not even bothering to look for her hoodie. Thankfully, she still had her shoes on. Even thought it was now April, it had been unusually cold and felt much the same as winter.

"Woah!" Mickey called, while Jackie yelped in fright. "Wait! Percy, wait!" He said, advancing toward her with an outstretched hand. Persephone only turned with a violent shake of her head, her lungs closing up and her vision tunneling. "You set me up! You set me up!" was all she could say, her voice shaking so badly her words were almost unaidable. 

"No! No we didn't! I swear!" Mickey pleaded. But Persephone had swiped at him with her hand when he got too near, just barely missing, and stumbled toward the door, trying to escape as soon as possible without turning her back to her captors and giving them the chance to pin her down. Her phobia was closing in on her and she felt her hearts pounding painfully in her chest, tears welling and burning in her eyes and her legs and hands shaking so badly she could barely grasp the doorknob. 

"Percy, no!" Jackie shrieked, she too jumping up after her. But Persephone had lost all ability to recognize the two as the friends she had grown fond of. Now, they were just more people who were threatening to 'help' her!

'I've got to go!

'I've got to get out of here!'

'Air! I need air! Now!'

'I've got to get away, I can't breathe! They're right behind me!'

She didn't even unlatch the security chain on the door; she just yanked the open so hard that the chain burst and then she bolted through as fast as she could. 

However, she only made it two steps before she collided with something that made her almost tumble backwards. 

No, not something—someone!

'He's here!'

*POW!*


	6. Explanations

The Doctor was thrown back as a flash of white pain exploded on his left temple. When the stars finally faded from his vision, and the world decided to stop sending him on a roller-coaster, he found himself sitting on his rear in front of Jackie Tyler's flat, utterly clueless as to what just happened. 

All of a sudden, Mickey Smith bounded through the front door, glancing for an instant at the Doctor, (whose eyes were still squinting in pain, a high-pitched ringing in his ears) before leaping over him and bounding down the road shouting "Wait! Percy, come back! Please wait!" Jackie was right behind him, one hand covering her mouth in horror and shock, eyes wide. But when she heard the Doctor moan in pain on the ground as he touched his tender head, she looked down and gasped when she saw him.

"Doctor, what happened," she exclaimed as she bent down to help him up. 

"I was hoping you could answer that for me. What just happened?" He was truly at a loss. 

"I think she punched you," was Jackie's answer. The Doctor shook his head to clear the last of his blurry vision as he said "Yes, I know that, Jackie! Blimey, that was a wicked right hook!" He shifted to his feet, only to slump back down to the ground. "Whoo! I don't think I can stand up yet!" 

"Well was that her?" Jackie demanded, crouching beside the Time Lord. "Can you tell? Is she a Time Lord?" 

The Doctor nodded. "Yeah. I could feel her presence as soon as I landed here and I was sure as soon as she collided with me. And also when she punched me. I felt the telepathic bond spark. She, assuming she thinks she's human, wouldn't have felt it—or if she did, she would just think it was irrelevant—but I know. I could feel her."

Jackie's mouth was gaped open. "You're sure? You're absolutely sure?" The Doctor nodded firmly. "Absolutely. Now it's only a matter of convincing her to let me run some scans and get her to embrace her true identity. And judging from her actions just now, I'm sensing that might be a challenge." He and Jackie looked in the direction the homeless girl had run, only to see Mickey walking back toward them alone with a frustrated look on his face. "Speaking of which," the Doctor said. "What's her name? And what happened in there that made her react so violently?"

By this time, Mickey had arrived and had heard his question. "Her name's Persephone. And I'll tell you everything, Doc. But first, let's go inside, I'm freezing. I looked everywhere for her, but I think she's long gone. She knows this city better than anyone and I wouldn't doubt that she knows of every short cut and hide-away there is. I'm worried about her, though. She doesn't have a coat or her hoodie."

Jackie lead the two men back inside, the Doctor testing out the name 'Persephone' all the while and found it felt quite nice on his lips. Jackie seated them at the kitchen table and prepared three mugs of tea. "So," the Doctor started, trying to pat down his impatience. "You were going to tell me what happened in here?" Mickey nodded and opened his mouth, but the Time Lord continued, a furious edge cutting into his voice and sparking in his eyes "Because if you hurt her in any way, there will be hell to pay." 

Mickey and Jackie were taken aback by the Doctor's sudden turn of emotions. They were also shocked at how he had grown so possessive of the girl when he'd never even met her (save when she punched him in the face!) This was a side of the Doctor they had never seen- a side that even the Doctor himself though he would never see: it was his family instinct; the instinctual reaction in his brain that protected his bonded and their children and other family members at all cost. True, he hadn't even properly met his bonded but that didn't mean he'd willingly kill anyone who dared upset her!

"No! No, of course not!" Jackie exclaimed. "Why on earth would you think that?! We would never hurt her! I'll have you know she's visited us five times in the last three months and has gotten to know and trust us quite well! And you had better watch who you're making threats to when you're in my own house!" 

The Doctor slumped and rested his face in his hands, elbows on the table. "I know," he said, all anger dissipated and replaced with an almost hopelessness. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insinuate that you had hurt her, I'm just so stressed right now and I'm so worried about her and the future." There was a moment's pause as Mickey and Jackie nodded their acceptance of his apology and smiled sympathetically at his admission. "But still," the Doctor continued, pulling his head out of his hands. "You were going to tell me why she ran. And everything you know about her, while you're at it."

Mickey smiled, "That's a long and complicated story. Care to hear it?" The Doctor nodded eagerly, so Mickey retold all of the details of Persephone's visits, from the times he, Rose and Jackie saw her wandering outside, to the reason she bolted from the flat just a few minutes ago. He also revealed to him her deep phobia they thought she had of being tied down and reliant on others; that she actually feared being taken care of!

When his tale was done, the Doctor nodded. "That actually makes sense. If what you're saying is true, and she really thinks she's a born human, then it makes sense for her suppressed Time Lord mind to try and distance itself from others until it found one of its own kind. Not to mention protect itself from people who would want to capture such a rare person for their own purposes!" He then turned to Mickey and Jackie and spoke in a serious tone. "You see, Time Lord children (time tots) are born with an immeasurable amount of power in their minds that even they can't hope to control. For this reason, there's a special bond between tots and their parents in order for their parents to help them regulate and tame this power without their child going absolutely mad. It's essential to Time Lord development! And from what you say of Persephone and from what I've felt in my soul of her, she has not had a proper upbringing and has been living for many many years without any parent who could support her through their bonds. She must be so underdeveloped that she doesn't even know what species she is! I wouldn't be surprised if she's gone mad because of it!"

Jackie sat down next to Mickey, asking in fear for their friend "Well is there anything you can do? Is it too late for her?" The two of them gave the Doctor their undivided attention as he continued,

"No. It's not. There's another bond as well." He shifted in his seat and folded his hands on top of the table. "Each time lord has a bond with another—one other—time lady and vise versa. It's called Amarthin, a High Gallifreyan word that doesn't translate into anything in English or any other language in the universe. In short, it's like a soul bond, or a red string of fate, or the concept of soul mates, in human terms. They're the only ones in all of time and space that can equal and surpass a parent's bond. In rare cases of child neglect or abandonment (actually punishable by death), if a child has already found their bonded, then they could be raised just as safely by them as they would have been by their parents, only with the one person in the universe made for them."

"So..." Mickey trailed, trying to wrap his head around what the Doctor was hinting at. "You're saying that her parents abandoned her-" (The Doctor nodded.) "-And that.... you are her.... soul mate." The Doctor nodded again, slower this time, gauging the reactions of the two before him. 

Finally, Jackie leaned back in her chair and crossed her arm over her chest, a twisted look of disgust on her face. "That's just sick!" she exclaimed, glaring at the Doctor. "You're tell'n me that that eighteen-year-old girl's supposed to be in a relationship with you?! Were all your people pedophiles?!" It didn't matter that Persephone was technically an adult, she looked about ready to slap him across his already bruised face.

"Jackie...," the Doctor whined, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "We're not pedophiles! Chances are, Persephone's probably not actually eighteen anyway!" (Mickie and Jackie visibly recoiled in disbelief at this.) "You've got to understand that Time Lords were spread out all through time and space! The chances of two bondeds ever meeting when they're the exact same age is astronomically small! It wasn't uncommon at all for one member to be several hundred years older than the other! In those cases, strong bonds and friendships were formed until the younger person reached the age of maturity and was able to accept their bonded back!" Jackie still didn't look convinced and so the Doctor continued "And not even all Amarthins ended up in a romantic relationship anyway! It's rare, but sometimes they stay being just best friends for the rest of their lives, getting married and having families apart from each other!"

"I get it," Mickey said, preventing Jackie from insulting the Doctor's race further. "But you said she might not be eighteen. How old is she?" His brow was creased in confusion.

"Well," the Doctor responded. "You never can be sure when it comes to regenerations. Sometimes, an ancient time lord gets a child's body! But I feel in my hearts that she isn't at the age of adulthood, which, for Time Lords, is three hundred years. I'd say she's nearer to 245 years old."

Mickey whistled at that large number, not being able to imagine what it would be like to remain underaged for three hundred years! "And how old are you," he asked. 

"Nine hundred and three." 

The Doctor's answer was said in a totally matter-of-fact tone, but Jackie's mouth hung open in response and Mickey laughed in disbelief, saying "Oh, dang!" But Jackie wasn't ready to let the subject go. "So you're tell'n me that that girl's marrying an old man!?" 

"Hey, I'm not old," the Doctor defended. "I'm not even middle aged!" 

"Not middle aged?!" Jackie cried. "You're seven hundred years older than her!" 

"And I told you," he responded, voice raising a little as well. "That's totally normal!"

Jackie did not appreciate his tone "And I told you that—" 

"Hey, guys! Relax!" Mickey interjected before things could get bloody. The two fell silent, though still glaring daggers at each other. "Doctor, you have to understand that, from a human standpoint, this is all very bizarre and even a little creepy." (The Doctor leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest, pouting.) "And Jackie," Mickie continued. "It may not make sense to us, but we're talking to the only person in existence who is of the same species and therefore knows how to help Persephone! We've got to take his word for it!"

There was a brief pause, before the Doctor said, "Blimey, Mickey! When did you become an expert in peace-negotiations?" Mickey just shrugged bashfully. "I didn't, I just didn't want to be present for the deaths of Rose's mum and the last Time Lord in existence." 

The Doctor chuckled a little. "Fair enough," he said. He then fell to thinking of how close he had been to meeting his bonded, gently rubbing his bruised temple as he thought.

Jackie broke the silence, saying "Alright I have another question." The Doctor looked up as she continued. "Right before she met you, she completely ripped the security chain on my door off without any problem! Then she punched you to the ground! How was she able to do that?"

"Oh," the Doctor said, sitting back and waving his hand dismissively. "That's nothing unusual. Time Lords are just naturally stronger than humans." The two thought about that for a moment before Mickey said "So Doctor, how do you want to find Persephone again? I highly doubt she'll be stopping by any time soon." 

The Doctor sighed regretfully. "No, I think you're right. After today's episode, I would expect her to try to stay hidden for at least a few weeks to rid herself of any potential pursuers." He paused, and then continued "I'll do some more searches of her on my own." He stood and straightened his coat, walking towards the door. "If she does come back though, please call me." He hesitated a moment before adding "And maybe don't tell her I'm coming over." Mickey and Jackie nodded, and with a final word of thanks, the Doctor bounded through the door and into his Tardis, eager to start the search again.


	7. Back to the Search

The Doctor set out once more for the alleys of London, sonic screwdriver in hand. He had scanned his bruised temple for unrecognized signatures and was able to isolate the signature of the girl who had punched him. Now, it wasn't like a criminal fingerprint database, where he could look up exactly who she was and her history, but he could download the information to his sonic screwdriver, thus giving him a scanner that would allow him to trace her biological signature. 

*Blip....................... blip.........................*

The sonic immediately began playing a game of hot and cold with him, blipping slowly when Persephone's signal was low (and thus far away) and beeping with increasing rapidity the closer he got. So he turned and picked a direction, listening intently for any variation in the sonic's tones. When, for an instant, the beeps grew more frequent, the Doctor would bolt in the direction the sonic had been facing until it inevitably slowed down once again, signifying that he had lost her once more.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Persephone was shaken to her core after the events at Jackie's house. The thought of some random stranger coming to meet her sent chills of terror splashing over her back like a bucket of ice water. At the point where she had fled, her vision was so tunneled that she had not even seen who it was that she had lashed out and punched. She didn't even know if it was a person at all, and she didn't look back to find out!

What she did know was that she had been a fool in becoming so familiar with Jackie and Mickey. Because of them, she was back on the streets but without her hoodie to keep her warm, which was beginning to take a toll on her. She resolved that if the temperature didn't rise soon or if she didn't find another jacket (which were both unlikely) she would go into a café and stay there for a few hours. 

But for now, she was much to terrified to even think about going anywhere where there would be people in a confined space! Therefore, she wrapped her arms around her bare shoulders and tried to ignore the numbness growing in her toes through her converses. 

She was being gingerly cautions with her right pointer and middle fingers, however, which she had crudely bandaged with a strip of dirty cloth she had found. The knuckles on these two fingers were split and swollen purple and were excruciating to the touch. No doubt, she knew, she had broken them punching the person on Jackie's doorstep. 

She didn't know where she was going or even if there was someone following her, she just had the itch-- the nagging instinct-- to just keep moving.

And so she did, block by block, hour by hour until she came across a chain link fence separating her from crossing to the other side on an alley. It was secured in place simply by a bit of twine, so Persephone figured she could cut it with her knife and be on the other side in no time.

She reached to her side to pull out her knife.... Only to grasp thin air!

'Where's my knife?!'

She immediately began to panic, throwing down her backpack and dumping out the contents, rifling through her pockets and whirling around in circles to see if she somehow dropped it anywhere. But it was gone! That knife, that switchblade, was one of the few objects Percy possessed that she truly treasured (along with her converse). There had been a street vendor several years ago who was selling tactical gear and weapons. He was a traveling merchant, so he packed up and moved every few weeks. One week, he packed up and moved, but forgot a single switchblade, which had fallen behind some empty bins. Persephone had found it and kept it, teaching herself how to use it. It was her only mode of self defense other than her body itself, and it had saved her life against thugs, savage dogs, and general criminals many times. It had also saved her many times from escaping predicaments where she found herself trapped, as she used it to cut ropes, start fires and other such things.

But now it was gone and she felt strangely naked (and it had nothing to do with her actual lack of proper clothes.) She thought back to where she could have possibly left it. Could she retrace her steps all the way back until she found it?

And then a thought struck her which made a weight like an elephant settle on her chest:

She had left it at Jackie's house!


	8. At Last

Jackie Tyler came back from the supermarket and set the bags down on the kitchen table, beginning to put everything in their proper places, when she noticed something on the counter that was definitely not hers. It was a switchblade. A black one.

With the blade extended, it came to nine inches. It was about four and a half inches when folded. It was light but sturdy and had two knobs on either side that worked as levers to whip the wickedly sharp blade out and back in with a simple flick of the wrist. It was quite a frightening object and Jackie knew it was not a possession of her own or Mickey's. It must, she resolved, belong to Persephone, forgotten when she fled from meeting the Doctor.

She put it back on the table to worry about later.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Several hours later, a knock sounded on the front door, and Jackie leapt to open it, a greeting to Persephone forming on her lips. (She didn't have to worry about the security chain because it was hanging uselessly from the door itself.). But it wasn't the homeless girl, it was the Doctor, standing on her doorstep with his hands dug in his pockets and a tired look in his eyes covered up by his usual display of relaxation. 

"Hullo, Jackie," he said. "Has Persephone stopped by?" Jackie shook her head and then opened the door wider for the time lord to step inside when she saw him deflate slightly, his casual persona cracking. He followed the Tyler inside and closed the door behind him, suddenly feeling exhausted, now that his excitement had left. He trudged over to the sofa and threw himself down on it dramatically, letting out a massive sigh.

Jackie pitied him, saying, "Ooh, you poor thing! I'll make you some tea! That'll cheer you up!" From the couch cushions, the Doctor's voice spoke up "You do know I'm not actually British, right?" Jackie scoffed and didn't stop the tea-making routine. "You spend so much time here, you may as well be," she responded, carrying the beverage in a pink 'I'm a cutie and I know it!' mug to the alien, still sprawled face-down on the pillows. "Here you are, love," she said, setting the mug down on a coaster on the coffee table. "Piping hot." 

The Doctor finally lifted his head to look over at the mug, eyes half closed with drowsiness and lack of motivation. His hair was more wild than usual, as if he had been constantly running his hands through it in agitation. But when he saw the tea, he heaved himself up and took the mug in his hands, letting the steam gently caress his face. "I just want her to be safe," he muttered softly, not meaning to direct it to anyone in particular, mostly to himself.

Jackie's bottom lip stuck out in sympathy before she remembered the object she had found earlier. "Oh!" she exclaimed. "I nearly forgot! I had just gotten done with the shopping and was putting things away when I found this..." She jogged into the kitchen and came out momentarily, holding the knife in her hand. She walked over to the Doctor, who had perked up slightly with interest, and set it down beside his mug. "What do you make of it," she asked. "I assumed it was Persephone's, since I don't own anything like that, so I said to myself—"

The Doctor cut her off before she could go on a tangent, grabbing the knife and holding it close to his face. "You're right," he said, though admitting the Tyler was right sent an icky feeling through him. 

"Well how do you know?" Jackie asked. The Doctor responded immediately, "Well for starters, I can feel her energy on it. Second..." he suddenly brought the object to his face and licked it. "Yup. Tastes like the outdoors. It's rarely --if ever-- been inside for a long period of time. This knife's also expensive, there's no way she would have been able to afford it." 

"So she stole it?" Jackie asked. The Doctor's head jerked up, an affronted expression on his face "No, of course not!" he said, it seeming to Jackie that he was taking her statement as an insult to himself instead of Persephone. "She must have found it and kept it," he continued. "My point is, this is a very nice knife and likely the only protection she has. (Besides her fist, which can do a lot of damage.) She's not just going to forget about it. When she realizes it's missing, she'll go looking for it."

"And you think she'll come here?" 

"Absolutely." 

"Well, what do you want to do?"

~*~*~*~*~*~

The night air was thick and bitterly cold as Persephone rounded to the back of the Powell Estate, scouting for Jackie's flat. She was still in just her T-shirt, jeans and Converse, and was numb and therefore unfeeling of the cold. She finally found the back of Jackie's flat and eyed a window that she knew lead into the bathroom. Thankfully, there was an overhanging roof under this window, so climbing to it was easier than expected, though her broken fingers hindered her. 

At last, she pulled herself up to the window sill and peered cautiously inside. The bathroom door was closed, as usual, and the room was empty. She wedged her good fingers under the bottom of the window (left unlocked) and slid it up. Then she expertly dislodged the safety screen and hoisted herself inside, landing with the stealth of a panther. 

She froze for a few minutes, listening for movement. It was after midnight, however, and she knew Jackie (being the heavy sleeper that she was) would be fast asleep and would be completely oblivious to her arrival. She propped the screen against the wall and left the window open in case she had to make a quick getaway. Then she crept over to the door and put her ear against it.

Silence.

She slowly grasped the doorknob and opened the door just enough for her to slip through. The flat was toasty and filled Percy with warmth and she wished that she was there under different circumstances so that she could revel in it longer. But she was on a mission and nothing could deter her. 

She thought back to the places in the house she had been in during her visits here. She first checked the kitchen, sticking to the shadows cast by the closed-architecture style of the flat. She peered into the kitchen and scanned the counters and chairs and floors. Nothing. So she tiptoed through and rounded into the living room. She walked in past the sofa and knelt down to look under the telly and the coffeetable, only finding the flooring and some dust bunnies. There was nothi---

"Hullo."


	9. Introductions

Persephone, on instinct, screamed and threw herself backwards away from the voice, crashing into the wall behind her with a bang as she struggled to get her bearings.

"Ooh, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!," the voice said, followed by the shifting of fabric and the scuffling of shoes. Persephone threw her head up to see, in the dim light of the moon outside, a tall man in a brown suit with spikey hair. He had an apologetic look on his face and looked ready to kick himself for scaring her. He took a few steps toward her and reached out a hand to her, as if to help her up, but Percy scrambled away, accidently trapping herself in the corner of the room in the process. "Don't touch me," she shrieked. "Don't touch me!" The Doctor instantly backed off, holding his hands out to show he wouldn't try anything. "Who- Who are you," Percy gasped. "Where's Jackie?" 

The Doctor slowly lowered himself down on the floor a few feet away from her and folded his hands completely innocently. "I'm the Doctor—just the Doctor. And I told Jackie to spend the night at a friend's house so that I could meet with you alone."

Evidently, that was not the right thing to say, as when he said 'meet with you alone,' Percy started to shake even more and press herself harder into the corner. "Why," was all she could say. She watched the man turn and lean his back against the wall, legs extended and crossed in front of him. He responded with a jesting smile "Well how else was I going to meet you? Last time I tried, you punched me in the face!"

Persephone made a little 'oh' sound. So he was who she had punched and who Jackie and Mickie had invited over those few days ago. 

"Speaking of which," 'the Doctor' continued, "I see your hand is injured. Is it broken?" There was concern swirling in the man's brown eyes. He held his hand out to her once more, though this time keeping himself at a distance. 

Persephone cradled her had to her chest, wincing when a jolt of pain flared through it. As she did that, a new sensation in the depths of her soul told her that she could trust this man-- and that she had to trust this man! She didn't know what it was, but the feeling terrified her and made her want to do the exact opposite of what it said. The absolute last thing she wanted to do was touch this man or let him touch her injuries but she knew that if she didn't get it checked out or treated soon, it would never heal properly. He did say he was a doctor, right?

Slowly, never taking her eyes off of his, she extended her bound hand to him, allowing hers to rest in his palm, twitching in pain and wariness. She remained rigid, ready to pull her arm back and bolt at the first sign of danger. 

The Doctor sat up a little and faced her properly and she saw deep concentration on his eyes as he took her hand into his with reverence, gently turned her it over and, with the tender care of a friend, unwound the dirty bandage from it. When it was fully unraveled, he cradled her hand in his with utmost care and let out a low breath. "You've got a broken finger, Percy," he said. 

"H-how do you know my name," Persephone stuttered, beginning to retract her hand. But the Doctor gently secured it in his, preventing her from pulling back further as he answered "Well Jackie's a friend of mind and she told me about you." Percy was still on edge, but she allowed the man to inspect her fingers closer. 

"I've got just the thing," he said. Gently resting her injured hand lightly in his, he reached with his other into his pockets and pulled out a number of objects, including a tub of cream, a sticker of some kind, and a bandage. 

Persephone watched him like a hawk as he bent over her hand with concentration. She had dislodged and slightly splintered the large knuckle of her middle finger, causing it to turn purple and blue and to swell. She really had punched him hard! She watched as he unscrewed the cap of the tub of mystery cream and swiped a dollop of it onto two fingers, then proceeded to lightly smear it over her knuckle. Instantly, the jabbing pain ceased and was replaced with a kind of tingling. Percy marveled at it. "What was that," she asked, instantly wary.

The Doctor replied light-heartedly, as if they had been friends for a long time, "That was a little bone-mending remedy from my home. Works wonders every time! Does it hurt anymore?" Percy shook her head and the Doctor proceeded to wrap the knuckles of her hand with the bandage, much like you would a boxer's. Then he peeled the backing off of the round sticker and stuck it on top of the covered knuckle. Instantly, a soothing iciness eased into her bones, eliminating any leftover discomfort. 

"There," the Doctor said, presenting her hand to her in his own. He tried not to let it effect him when she jerked it back to her protectively. "All done. It should be completely healed in five to seven days, so until then, try not to stress it." 

Persephone nodded and brought her hand closer for clearer inspection. He really had done a good job! She was so surprised, in fact, that she momentarily forgot about the strange circumstance she was in until the man spoke again:

"So," he said. He sat Indian style in front of her while she sat on her knees. "Now that that's done with, I'd like to tell you who I am." He looked at her with sincere brown eyes and she felt something in her soul give an unfamiliar reaction. But she pushed down the feeling and nodded for him to continue. "My name, as you know, is the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey, a long way away from here." He could see that she was very confused by his words so decided to just lay it out plainly. "I'm an alien." 

Persephone felt unamusement bubble in her stomach. Up until then, she thought, he had seemed like a pretty normal bloke (despite the fact he waited for her in a dark room just so that he could talk to her and that strange, unnatural feeling in her gut) but now, with him claiming to be and alien? He had to have been high and broken into Jackie's flat. Or maybe he was just insane.

Percy felt uneasiness and the urge to dart away enter her mind. But she knew that, given his previous display of familiarity and 'concern', it was likely that he would try to prevent her from leaving. These thoughts only made her alarms flare up more and her need to be alone extreme. The Doctor, however, thought their encounter was going quite well. Because their bond was not initiated, he couldn't directly feel her emotions, but he thought she looked calm enough. He was very pleased with himself and couldn't wait to tell her more. 

"Wow," she said, eyes on her bound hand. She figured it was best to let him think she was perfectly comfortable. "Is... that where you learned to bind wounds?" The Doctor smiled. Now she was the one initiating conversation! This was progress! "Yes it was," he said cheerily. Percy nodded. "Huh. Well thank you so much for fixing it, I would have been in a lot of pain without you."

The Doctor beamed. "No problem! I-"

"No really, I mean it. Thank you."

The Doctor was confused. Why was she thanking him like she'd never see him again?

Wait---

The Time Lord didn't have any warning as his young mate leapt up and bolted to the door, opening it and slamming it shut behind her. It took the Doctor a few more seconds to get up from his position on the ground but he was just too late, as the door slammed in his face. And by the time he opened it again, she was already a block and a half away.


	10. Found

When Jackie Tyler entered her flat the next morning after spending the night at Cousin Mo's, she had completely forgotten about the Doctor and his plot to meet Persephone. So when she found the Time Lord once more sprawled face-down on her sofa, she immediately dropped off her things by the door and called out to him as she approached, "Why are you still here? Did you meet Percy?"

The Time Lord in question didn't say anything, just nodded his head against the pillows.

"Well that's wonderful! How did it go?"

The only reply she got was a grunt.

"Oh. Not so well, huh? Did she run away?"

Another nod and then a huge sigh.

Jackie felt for him, she really did! She walked up to him and sat on the coffee table, facing him. "What happened," she asked gently. After a few seconds, the Doctor rolled over to face her, exposing his big brown eyes that started to swim slightly with tears. He let out another massive sigh that expressed all the hopelessness and frustration he was feeling. He hated to look weak in front of Jackie Tyler, but at the moment, the comfort of a mother was welcome.

He took a deep breath. "She let me bandage her hand, as it was broken from punching me, and after a while I thought she had grown to trust me. But then, I don't know, I must have said something that scared her because she just bolted out the front door! By the time I got outside, she was long gone." He sighed again and closed his burning eyes. "What kind of Time Lord am I if I can't even keep track of and protect my bonded?"

Jackie laid a hand on his shoulder and rubbed it soothingly, lightly scolding him by saying "Hey, don't say that about yourself! We all know that Percy is different. She's got trust issues that will not be cured in a day. If you just visit more often, I'm sure she'll grow to see you're no harm to her! And eventually you'll be able to tell her who she is."

But the Doctor became more agitated. "But that's just the thing, Jackie!" he said, sitting up and holding his hands out emphatically. "She doesn't know who she is and if I am not near her to protect her, she could hurt herself!"

Though the Tyler saw the sincerity in the man's voice, she couldn't quite find the connection between her statement and his. "But," she said. "She's been doing fine on her own for 18—" "200," the Doctor corrected. Jackie gave him annoyed look but altered her statement anyway, "...200 years! Why would she be in danger now?"

The Doctor kept his eyes on his hands, which he wrung anxiously. "You see," he started. "In cases of extreme negligence, a time tot's mind will try to grow without a parenting or Amarthin bond. It's nearly impossible and almost always ends in madness, but it seems that Persephone is lucky in that her mind was able to more or less adapt. But when she came in contact to me—first by punching me, then by letting me bandage her hand—the bond in both of our minds sparked. She likely felt nothing, as she would be unfamiliar to the feeling which itself would be faint due to the weakness of the connection. But at that moment, her mind remembered what it was like to have a bond and how much it craved it, whether she knew it or not! So now that she's run away again, she won't be able to continue to live like she has all this time; she'll have this unidentifiable feeling in her soul that, if not satisfied, could prove very harmful to her."

There was silence for a moment as Jackie took all this in. "So," Jackie breathed at last. "Now that she's met you, she has to stay with you in order to survive?" The Doctor nodded. "More or less," he said. Jackie asked another question, "How long does she have before problems start?"

The Time Lord leaned back in the cushions and rested his fists over his eyes. "That's what I'm afraid of," he muttered. "She's been deprived so long, it could be anywhere from three to twelve hours! I've got to find her! My only hope is that once her mind starts to feel the repercussions, I'll be able to sense her struggle and then will be able to hone in on her location. But it's risky because there might not be enough of a bond established for me to feel her pain."

"But you've got to try, right," Jackie asked. The Doctor looked at her and smiled gently. "Of course," he said. "Now that I know there's another member of my species that still exists, I'd go to hell and back to make sure she stays alive and happy!" Jackie grinned back at him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Four hours later, Persephone was back in the alleys of London, reflecting on her latest scare. She still had only a T shirt for her upper body and still lacked her knife, so she was both freezing and unprotected. But her right hand, she could feel, was healing remarkably well and didn't hurt at all. Whoever the man in Jackie's flat actually was, he told the truth when he said he was a doctor!

That entire encounter had been so bizarre, Percy thought as she leaned against the wall of the dead end she had reached. Who was that guy and how did he get inside Jackie's flat? And how did he know her name? Why did he say he was an alien? Why did it seem like he was expecting her? And why had she felt this tugging sensation in her gut that told her to trust him?

No sooner had she thought this, when a pain like someone was hammering a railroad spike through her temples caused her to double over with a cry. When she tried to right herself, the pain returned tenfold, causing her to collapse to her knees and her eyes to water. What was going on? What kind of migraine was this? She grit her teeth together and clasped her hands to her temples to try and ease the pain, but nothing worked and the stabbing sensation continued until black spots started to dance in her already blurry vision. The pain was so horrible that she didn't even realize she was screaming!

But then, just when she thought she was going to black out from the excruciating agony, a blurry blue shape appeared in front of her. And as it approached, Percy could feel the headache receding with each step. At last, when her vision cleared, she saw a man kneeling before her with his fingers on her temples. But not just any man—It was the Doctor!

His brows were narrowed in concentration and his brown eyes were closed. His mouth was set in a hard line and his fingers gently massaged the sides of her head in an inexplicably soothing way. At last, when the pain was completely gone, his eyes open and met the young woman's, who was collapsed to her knees in front of him.

In an instant, she realized that he was holding her head and jerked back away from him like she had been burned. She felt that sensation in her mind again; the one telling her to trust this man unconditionally! It terrified her!

The Doctor saw that she was looking at him with fear and confusion and when her head was removed from his hands, he rocked back on his heels. Percy's mouth opened with the intent of forming words. But she was interrupted by the familiar voice of Jackie Tyler as she ran towards them through the ally, closely followed by Mickey. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Doctor, did you help her?" In an instant, Percy was swept up in arms and her face was turned this way and that to allow Jackie to inspect it for harm. "I- I'm fine, Jackie," was all she could manage to get out.

While Jackie continued to fuss over her, the Doctor stood and watched as Mickey came to his side. When the Doctor had felt the alarms going off in his head that told of his bonded's agonizing pain, he had been with Jackie and Mickey. Naturally, they demanded to come along and so the three of them were there with her when she came to.

"Was it really that bad," Mickey asked the Time Lord quietly. The Doctor nodded. "Bond deprivation is one of the most painful experiences a Time Lord can undergo. Given another hour and she would be dead." His face was grim, not revealing any of the relief that was flooding through his hearts.

"What," Percy gasped. "What was that?"

The Doctor took this opportunity to step up, and when he did, his hearts clenched when he saw blaring evidence of distrust in her eyes. For Percy's sake, he ignored the sensation and spoke, "That's what I was trying to tell you last night. Before you ran away."

The air grew still as all waited to hear what the Doctor had to say. "I... Well, I have reason to believe you're not entirely---"

Jackie cut him off, beginning to hoist Percy up to her feet. "Why don't we go somewhere warm to think this through. Percy's freezing to death!" The Doctor let out a silent sigh of relief. He needed a little more time to gather his thoughts into words suitable for the confused teen. "Let's go into the Tardis," he said. "It's right around the corner."

Then, leading the way, he led the small group to his big blue box (that Percy could have sworn hadn't been there when she walked through this alley not ten minutes before) unlocked it, and held the doors open for them.


	11. The Truth (Most of it)

Percy stopped about five feet away from the tall blue box, causing Jackie to walk ahead of her. Percy saw the box as they had approached it, but had assumed it was some kind of modern art piece (despite its mysterious appearance). She thought they would walk right past it and continue down the ally. But then the Doctor stopped and opened the door and out of that tiny box erupted a warm, buzzing, golden light that illuminated a massive room within. Percy didn't know what to think and the strange humming in her mind was not helping to calm her nerves.

Persephone watched as Mickey entered without fear, even giving the doorway a pat as he passed. Jackie entered next, and Percy watched as she and Mickey struck up a friendly conversation within. Finally, the two Time Lords were the only ones outside. Percy could feel her chest rising and falling faster than usual.

"Come on," the Doctor said, leaning against the box and nodding to the interior. The thought of bolting briefly crossed her mind, but she realized that she would have to run past the Doctor to do so, as there was a dead end behind her. Percy was scared. This was all so new to her and at that moment, she just wanted to be alone again! The Doctor must have seen her subconsciously flicking her eyes from him to the entrance of the alley because he cocked an eyebrow at her and Persephone immediately knew that he was ready to catch her if she bolted. So, in her panic, she tried to create a convincing excuse to get away from him.

"I, um, I have some things I want to collect first. Can I come back later...?" She registered that her voice wavered and tapered off at the end when she saw the Doctor shaking his head with a sort of frustrated-amusement.

"Oh no, Missy," he said. He pointed a finger at her. "You're staying with me at all times! If there's something you need, I'll go with you to get it." Then he gestured inside the box. "Otherwise, please enter the Tardis. I can't risk you running away again."

Percy could have sworn she felt her hearts stop. The way his eyes bored so intensely into her own with a possessiveness that she had never seen before utterly terrified her. But, once again, the look in the man's eyes told her that he was prepared to catch her, should she run. But Jackie and Mickey went inside with no concern! If they trusted him, did that mean she could too?

There was no choice. The girl had no idea what would happen if she defied this man's orders, and her survival instincts were too strong to find out. So, never removing her eyes from his, Persephone slowly entered the golden room, stepping out of the way as the Doctor walked in behind her, closing the doors with a resounding snap.

The room was even more bizarre than it had seen from the outside. It was a large round room, with a slanted ramp that lead up to a grated platform. The walls were pocked with round holes that seemed to be the source of the strangely warm orange glow, and yellow coral-like structures branched from the floor to the ceiling. Across the room was a hallway that seemed to lead deeper into the impossible place. But strangest of all was the huge chunk of machinery that was positioned right in the middle of the room. It appeared to be some kind of operator's consul, with hundreds of different knobs, switches, dials, scanners, wires, and buttons. And at the center of it was a tall glass tube that glowed an unearthly blue. It was so confusing, so foreign, so... alien!

The Doctor felt a stab of guilt as his bonded scuttled over to Jackie, who wrapped her arms around her. Though the comfort helped a little, Percy could feel her hearts racing faster and faster. She was in an unfamiliar and impossible place with a man who seemed intent on keeping her there! This was like her worst nightmare! She knew she was psyching herself out, but she was incapable of stopping. She just couldn't help it! After so long on her own, she didn't know how to cope with so many people suddenly caring so much about her wellbeing! She could—she could feel her lungs closing up and her vision blurring! She was about to have a panic attack, and knowing that she was made her panic even more.

Just as the Doctor was making his way to the consul to send them into the void, he felt waves of panic coming from Percy, who was currently pressed up against Jackie's side. Although the Time Lords' bond was still undeveloped and weak, he could still feel the fear radiating off of her. Without even thinking, he sent subtle waves of calmness and sensations of safety to help subdue these fears. He had to be careful not to make his interference known, however, as she was still unfamiliar to the whole process and would likely not understand and would be even more frightened if she found out without proper explanation first. He watched as the girl's shoulders instantly relaxed and her eyes closed as she breathed in slowly and deeply. When she opened her eyes a few seconds later, her face was calm but with a hint of confusion.

She was promptly distracted, however, by Jackie, who started peppering her with questions about what she thought of the Tardis. The Doctor was grateful for her intervention because Percy was distracted and therefore not paying attention to her fears as the Doctor lead their quartet through the many halls to the med bay.

"Okay," the Doctor said at last as they entered the room. He clapped his hands once and then looked to Percy and gestured to the hospital bed. "If you'd please take a seat, I'll explain everything."

Persephone stopped in the doorway as everyone's eyes turned to her. "Come on," the Doctor said gently. "I just want to give you a check-up. It might clear up some things about yourself." Percy was hesitant, even when Jackie lead her to the bed and she got on.

"Alright," the Doctor said. "First things first, I think I owe you an explanation." He pulled up a chair next to her bed and sat down. "Now, I'm sure you're very confused with this whole situation, and I don't blame you at all. But what you're going to hear next might be a bit of a shock and a little confusing, so bear with me until I'm finished, okay?" Percy nodded, though she was already mapping out possible escape routs, should she need them.

The Doctor took a deep breath and started: "As I said last night, I'm a species of non-terrestrial life forms called 'Time Lords.' We are called such because on our home planet, Gallifrey, we harnessed the powers of space and time and could practically manipulate it to our will—within the rules, of course!" But then his voice grew darker and his eyes slid to his feet. "But then there was a war. A time war. The Last Great Time War. We fought a race called the Daleks and my home was destroyed, along with everyone in it. I thought I was the only survivor. And I genuinely believed that to be true for hundreds of years......" Then he looked up and met Persephone's youthful eyes. "...Until I met you."

Percy recoiled in shock. Though she already found the words he was saying hard to believe, this final statement took the absurdity to a whole new level! He was off his rocker!

But, quickly seeing her disbelief, the Doctor continued, "No, I'm telling the truth! I can prove it!" He reached into a drawer and pulled out a stethoscope. "Here, put this on and I'll show you," he said. Percy looked concerned at first, but saw no other choice and so put the ends into her ears. The Doctor then took the head of the device and pressed it against the left side of his chest.

Percy sat in apprehension as the Doctor put the stethoscope over his heart. What was he trying to prove? At first, there was only the magnified rustling of the drum over fabric. But then when he stilled.... She heard it.

It was his heart beat, loud and clear. And the sound of it filled her with such unexplainable calmness that she momentarily forgot where she was and what she was doing. But then her mind registered a peculiarity. I was like... his heart was making an echo inside his chest! When the Doctor saw her perplexed face, he slid the stethoscope to the right. Percy's eyes widened and she leaned back and looked him in the eye.

"But," she said, eyes wide as she tried to wrap her head around what this implied. "That doesn't mean you're not human! It has to be possible for some people to have two hearts!" She looked desperate. The Doctor shook his head and pulled the device away from his chest as Percy pulled the ends out of her ears. "No," he said. "While it is possible for some people to have two hearts through birth defects, it's physically impossible for them to survive past infancy. Human bodies aren't evolved to support two hearts. It would kill you."

"But..." she started. By this time, her voice had dropped to a whisper, as if she was afraid that if she spoke too loudly, this would become reality and not the dream she hoped it was. Her gaze then lifted to his, her big eyes filled with confusion and fear. "But I have two hearts."

The Doctor only nodded silently. Percy swallowed, her throat closing up as confusion enveloped her mind. She looked over to Jackie and Mickey, who had remained silent the entire time, seated in two chairs near the entrance to the room. Their hearts broke as the eyes of the girl they had grown to care for asked them—begged them—to tell her this was all not true and just a joke. For despite the many times she had run away from them because of her phobia, she trusted them like she had never trusted anyone before in her life! Mickey was like a brother she never had, and Jackie was like her mother. Percy trusted their word. And if they said the strange man before her was an alien at that, by way of biology, she was an alien too......

She would believe them.

Probably.

Well...

"Is this true," she whispered. The two nodded. And as they did, they could also see the Doctor's worried and slightly heartbroken face trained on his sneakers. "He's as alien as they come, sweetheart," Jackie said softly. "I trust him completely. If he says you are an alien, and if he can prove it, then I believe him." The Doctor's face lifted with a sort of touched expression as he looked on the eldest Tyler. She really did care! Jackie saw this and quickly backtracked "But still, he's the most annoying man I've ever spoken to, so good luck with him!" But the smile didn't clear from the Time Lord's face.

"Mickey," the young woman asked. Mickey looked her dead in the eyes with his soft brown orbs and spoke softly, saying "I've been through quite a bit with the Doctor. Even stopped World War III with him!" He paused to shoot a smirk at the Time Lord, who smiled at the memory. "So yeah, I'd trust him in this."

Persephone's gaze slowly went back to the Doctor. "But you're implying that I'm not human," she said, her voice cracking slightly. The Time Lord felt his hearts clench as he looked at his young Amarthin so vulnerable and lost. "You're saying I'm your species! But how could I have never known this?!"

The Time Lord folded his hands in his lap and began to retell what he had told Jackie and Mickey a few days before. "Our species," he started slowly. "Ages differently than others. For instance, adolescence lasts for about two hundred and fifty years for us."

Percy's eyes almost bugged out of her head. "But that means I'm just a baby!"

The Doctor couldn't help the amused grin that spread onto his face. "Not exactly," he said, still unable to completely wipe the smile away. "I'd actually predict you to be around two hundred fourty-five."

"WHAT?!" Percy shrieked, jumping off the bed. "That's impossible! I'm eighteen! Surely I'd remember if I had an extra two hundred years to my life!"

The Doctor held out his arms in an effort to calm her. "But I can explain!" he continued. "You don't know that you've lived that long because your memory loops the last year every year! It's a survival tactic to prevent you from going mad!" Hearing that did calm Persephone slightly, as her confusion and curiosity overcame her anger. "What do you mean, 'survival tactic?'"

The Doctor's voice lowered as well as he saw his Amarthin calm. He gestured back to the bed, and she silently sat back down. Then he continued, "Time Lords are telepathic and they share a close mental bond with each other. It's very rare for a Time Lord to be able to live without that constant contact with others, especially for children. So over millions of years, time tots (that is, Time Lord children) are born with a special bond with their parents. This bond is there to make sure the tot doesn't go mad trying to deal with all of the power inside their heads. For this reason, it is mandatory that children and their parents be close. Without their parents' mental guidance, the tot will go mad and quickly die. Abandonment is actually considered to be so terrible a crime on our planet that it's actually punishable by death."

Here Percy's eyes widened. "But what about me," she asked. "Where are my parents?"

The Doctor looked down sadly. "That's the thing," he said. "With Gallifrey gone, there is no chance that your parents are still alive. I'm not even sure how you got to Earth!" Percy looked down sadly as well, the dream of having her family reunited crushed once and for all. But she pushed those thoughts to the side for now and focused on the next question she had. "But how come I'm not insane or dead already? And how come I can't remember my past?"

The Doctor opened his mouth, about to explain the Amarthin bond, but then hesitated. It struck him that she wouldn't take that information well and would resist his efforts to help her if she knew. So he made a selfish decision: he would keep the truth of their bond a secret until he deemed it time. He knew she would probably hate him when she did find out, but he couldn't bring himself to revealing it right then. He looked back up to Percy's eyes and said "That's actually a mystery. I have no idea! But The fact that you've survived this long without them is just... mind-boggling!" From behind him, he could feel Mickie and Jackie's confused eyes boring into the back of his head, but he ignored them. Thankfully, they didn't ask.

He continued "But as for you forgetting your past, I suppose that when your mind found itself without any psychic links with other Time Lords and instead found itself among humans, it tricked itself into thinking it was human in order to escape madness. And, obviously, no human lives over a hundred years and you still had the body of an eighteen-year-old, so your memory just erases the last year, thus, you stay eighteen until you reach the Time Lord age of maturity."

Persephone's head was swimming with all this new information about herself and she realized she needed to lay down. She leaned back on the bed and draped her arm over her eyes in an effort to think clearly. The Doctor just sat quietly, deciding it best to allow her to take some time to process the information. At the back of the room, Mickey and Jackie exchanged anxious glances.

"So," she said, after a good five minutes. "Now that I've met another Time Lord, I won't go insane and will age normally?" She uncovered her eyes and sat up on her elbows, facing the man seated beside her bed. But the Doctor shook his head. "Not exactly," he admitted. Again, he left out the information about them being bonded. The truth was that if they had not been bonded, she could go on her merry way. However, they were not normal, and leaving their bond after so many years of being deprived of it would kill her. So, he twisted the truth a little. "Now that you've met me, to leave would be suicide. Now that you've met me, your mind would snap if we were separated."

Persephone felt the wheels in her mind turning. Something about that statement sent dread churning through her gut. 

Did he just say she could never leave?


	12. Back to the Start

But the Doctor didn't notice her change in attitude. He didn't sense the budding panic that was welling up inside her. He just continued on, explaining lots of other things.

But Percy wasn't listening. She felt her hearts begin to beat faster and faster within her chest and she felt the first sensations of fear-induced adrenaline crawling up her spine and settling in her lungs and airways, slowly choking her. All at once, the absolute absurdity of the situation she found herself in came crashing down on her mind and she realized that she was trapped in a strange box with a fully-grown man who said that they were aliens and that she must never leave!

At those thoughts, her phobia started to set in and panic, hard and icy cold, gripped her throat, shooting adrenaline through her body like an electric bolt. She forgot about the Doctor's promises of safety, forgot about Mickey and Jackie sitting nearby—she forgot everything! All she knew was that she was trapped and the strange man before her didn't intend on letting her out anytime soon!

There was only one thought in her mind, and that was to find an exit and get the hell out of there as fast as she could. She was fairly certain she remembered the way she had come from the door of the blue box, and so was sure she could be up and out of this strange situation faster than it would take for anybody to even be able to react. After all, she reasoned, these were adults. It wasn't like they would be able to catch a spry eighteen-year-old who was used to running for her life!

All at once, her terror-induced adrenaline filled her right to the top of her head and choked her so much she even coughed a little in an effort to clear her airways. The Doctor stopped his ranting as he noticed Persephone starting to tremble right in front of him, her shoulders tensed like coils and her eyes wide and clouded against her deathly pale face.

For a moment then, their eyes met. And in that instant, he knew, right then and there, that she was going to bolt. Then he felt a sweeping wave of terror and panic crash into him right before she leapt off the bed, sneakers squeaking against the hard tile floor, as she sprinted like a horse from the starting gate to the door to the med bay.

The Doctor shouted after her, his own fear and worry creeping into his hearts, "Percy wait!" But the teen's senses were hyper focused solely on the doors. She was running as if the flames of death were nipping at her heels!

The doors that she knew to be automatic quickly came closer and closer. But all too late, the dreadful realization flooded her mind that the doors were not opening, and she crashed into them at top speed, sending shocks of pain radiating throughout her whole body. She felt the healing knuckle on her right hand pop, and she knew she had re-broken it. She was thrown onto her back, where burning tears of frustration and desperation welled in her eyes.

She heard the slapping of footsteps against the flooring and registered somewhere in her mind that it was Jackie and Mickey running to her, crying out exclamations of shock and expressions of concern. But this attention only fueled her cornered-animal instincts and the tears in her eyes slipped down her cheeks and dripped off her chin. In an instant, she was up and desperately pushing at the doors, crying out all sorts of pleas and demands to be let out. She wasn't even aware of what she said, only that her body was on full auto-pilot and she had no control!

The Doctor, meanwhile, stopped where he was when he saw his Amarthin crash head-long into the doors. He felt his hearts fracture and completely shatter piece by piece with every terror-filled scream that ripped from her lungs and with every tear that slid from her eyes. He knew that the Tardis had locked those doors in an attempt to keep Persephone close to her bonded so she could be protected. but the Time Lord also knew that the young Time Lady would not be listening to him any time soon. So with a reluctant command to his time machine, the med bay doors opened and Percy fled out of the room.

All of this happened in less than five seconds. By the time it was over, Mickey and Jackie had only just gotten to the now unlocked doors and were still calling out after their friend.

"Doctor, why did you let her out?" Jackie demanded. "She could hurt herself!" The woman's motherly instincts were kicking in and she figured that, as the only other living Time Lord in existence, it was now his job to make sure she remained safe. The only thing stopping her from bolting after the girl was Mickey's firm hand on her shoulder.

But her scoldings ceased when the Doctor remained by the bed Percy had been seated on, hands deep in his pockets and his head hung low.

He was silent for a moment before muttering "She needs time to calm down." Then he turned and stalked out of the room into the infinite maze of the Tardis.


	13. The Full Truth

Percy quickly realized that the hall she had used to come into the med bay no longer lead back to the front doors. After running down the halls at full, desperate sprint, eyes burning with tears, and lungs heaving in exhaustion, it became obvious that escaping at that moment would be impossible and that hiding would be her next best option for avoiding the Doctor until she found the exit.

So she turned blindly to the first door she came upon and tore it open, slamming it shut behind her. Even though the room was dark, Percy scanned the room, selectively seeing only the places that could serve as a potential hiding spot. Immediately, her eyes saw a metal ladder leading several feet up the far wall up to an alcove. Quicker than a lizard, the young woman scaled the ladder and threw herself into the alcove, flattening herself against the cushioned floor and against the far wall and cradling her throbbing hand. From there, she watched with the eyes of a hawk the door and the thin crack of golden light from the bottom of it.

And she watched.

And she waited.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next morning (or at least many hours later) Percy awoke slowly, her hazel eyes blinking lazily for a moment. Her eyes were still heavy with exhaustion, as she had practically slept with one eye open the whole night, and her muscles were ready to give out from being constantly tensed in her light sleep.

She carefully sat up from the nest of pillows and blankets she found herself in and observed her surroundings.

It appeared that she was in some kind of loft with walls on three sides that was sunk into the wall about five feet off the ground. On the opening that lead to the rest of the room, there was a solid wall about half a foot high, presumably to prevent her from falling out. The walls and ceiling (about five feet above her) were painted black and had little plastic glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to them. The floor area of the nook was about six feet by six feet, and appeared to be entirely covered in a mattress with black sheets and a grey comforter, and black and grey pillows were tossed around her.

Carefully, Percy poked her head out from her nook and surveyed the room. The walls were a deep navy blue with dark hardwood flooring. A ladder (the one she had climbed up the night before) was right next to a little fireplace with two big black chairs. On the other side of the ladder was a huge window with beanbag chairs in front of it. There was also a small desk and a chair across the room and two doors. One she knew lead to the outside, and the other she guessed lead to a bathroom. The room, Percy realized, felt almost like it was made for her.

It was too bad she wasn't staying.

Gradually, her courage grew and she slowly descended the ladder, her convers' (which she had not taken off) tapped lightly against the floor.

Immediately, her eyes were transfixed on the window before her. It stretched from the floor to the ceiling and displayed the most beautiful view Percy could ever have imagined. Cautiously, as if it was all a dream, or perhaps a trap, the young woman approached the window and rested her palms against the cool glass. A breath of awe escaped her as she gazed in wonder at the sight before her:

Inky blackness spread as far as she could see, so total and absolute that Percy could only guess she was looking at outer space. But this darkness was pushed aside by brilliant displays of color; stars, planets, dust...they all swirled in her vision and caused a silent calmness to envelope her soul. It was... magnificent. Never before, Percy thought, had she ever seen such beauty. For a few moments, she just stood, watching the stars twinkle and the planets swirl.

~*~*~*~*~*~

At last, after nearly seven hours, the Doctor couldn't wait any longer and went to go find Persephone's room. After her episode the night before, he thought it best to give her some time alone to gather her thoughts (and for him to gather his).

The Tardis was landed near the Powell Estates, but Micky and Jackie had refused to leave, instead opting to lounge in one of the time machine's many sitting rooms. He figured they wanted to stay because they didn't want to leave Percy in a strange place with an unknown man while she was still so fragile and new to this life.

So the Doctor started his way down one of the many Tardis hallways, briefly stopping in the kitchen to pick up two mugs of tea. His tea was made in his favorite black mug with a stereotypical green alien head on it, with text saying "2032 Annual Alien Convention." The other (the one for Percy) was black with a painted pomegranate on it, with little red seeds scattered around. The Doctor found this amusing, considering the legend behind her name.

Then, taking the steaming mugs, he carefully navigated the halls. At last, he came to her door, which was a dark red, with black vines carved up the sides, and little dark red gems imbedded along them like flowers. On the door, in gold lettering, was Persephone's name in fancy script. Shifting the mugs to one hand, he knocked lightly on the door. When nothing happened, he knocked again, this time louder, calling "Persephone? Can I come in? I want to explain."

Inside, Percy leapt out of the stupor she was in and was immediately overcome with panic. Eyes darting around the room, she quickly decided to hide, scaling the ladder to the bed alcove, and plastering herself against the far wall, trying to conceal herself in shadows.

After a few seconds, the door opened, revealing the Doctor with steaming mugs in his hand. He looked just the same as he had the day before, in his blue suit and red converse high-tops. But what her attention was drawn to the most, and what caused the most annoyance to flare up inside her, was the timid hopefulness in his big brown eyes.

The Doctor looked around the room from the doorway, not yet entering. From the day before, when Persephone had fled out of the Med Bay, he knew that the Tardis would make sure that the room she tried to hide in turned out to be her room, where she could be safe as she calmed down. He also knew that his Tardis was already very fond of his Amarthin and her new pilot, as she evidently tried to make the room Percy would be in comforting and homely.

The Doctor saw before him a smallish, dark room, illuminated only by the starlight coming from out of the huge window in the corner and from the hall light, which now streamed through the open door.

The Doctor could tell a lot about his companions from their rooms. For instance, Rose's room was large with pale pink walls, a big, lacy white canopy bed, a vanity, and a fluffy carpet. Her room was always perfumed with the scent of flowers, which came from the arrangement of the most beautiful plants she could find. Her vanity displayed many little bottles and jars of perfumes and lotions that she had collected over her travels, along with a little silver jewelry box with an assortment of necklaces, earrings, and bracelets. Her door was white and simple, with her name in a fancy, rose-gold script engrained in the wood, with little pink rose buds scattered around it. This room showed the Doctor that Rose, while extremely compassionate, charitable and strong-headed, liked the finer things in life, and hated to waste an opportunity to collect a new pretty item.

What Persephone's room told him was that she was used to hiding in the dark, and that that was where she felt safest. He guessed that she felt exposed in large, open spaces, so her room gave the impression of being a dark and almost cave-like. However, while there were other things in the room, such as the large table, bookshelves, beanbag chairs, and window, the Doctor got the impression that it would take a long while for her to feel comfortable in it.

After scanning the room, his eyes fell on the ladder that led up to the loft, where he could just see two wide eyes reflecting the light streaming from the open door. The Doctor took a small step inside, eyes squinting to see better. "Persephone?" he asked. When she didn't come out of her nook, the Time Lord entered slowly and set the mug of tea he had made for her onto the desk. Then he straightened and stuffed his hands in his pockets, suddenly feeling very awkward. He pursed his lips and rocked back on his heels for a moment, before softly saying "I'm sorry I scared you yesterday." He looked down at his red shoes as he spoke, mentally kicking himself for being so careless the day before. "I- I guess I just got over-excited and... well..." he shrugged bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck "just sort of word-vomited." Then he looked up to where he knew she was still hiding "But I'd like to start over, if you'd let me. I promise, this time I'll be more considerate!" The Doctor waited with bated breath. "I brought you tea..."

Finally, he heard a small, shaky voice say "How do I know I should trust you? Everything I've seen these last few days have been impossible! That pain in my head, Mickey and Jackie's behavior towards you, this box that's bigger on the inside" (the Doctor smiled to himself at that one.) "Your medical scans of me, that window, you! I don't know what to think! Either I've been... been drugged, or I've finally gone mad!" By the end of her rant, Percy's voice had risen to near hysterical and became choked with emotion. Though she was still concealed in shadows, he could practically see her large dark eyes filling up with tears of confusion and fear and her body trembling.

The Doctor let her rant, absorbing every word she said and allowing her waves of emotions to wash over him through their faint bond. For a moment he was still, just letting her catch her breath and composure. His closed eyes opened, however, when he heard the shifting of fabric and the sound of shoes against the metal rungs of the ladder that led from the loft to the floor.

Persephone was slowly and cautiously making her way down the ladder, one foot after the other and cradling her bandaged hand against her chest. Immediately, the Time Lord's gaze locked onto the limb, seeing blood was seeped through the fabric once again. Instinctively, he took a step forward and reached his hands out, eyes wide with concern and every thought he had previously thrown out the window, being replaced solely with concern. "You're hurt again! Let me—"

But the young woman recoiled, her left hand gripping the side of the ladder and a dangerous look in her eyes. She hid her broken hand behind her back and ignored the stab of pain it gave at the movement. (A stab of pain that did not go unnoticed by the Doctor.) "No," she said firmly. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes were set with resolve. "No more touching me. I don't want your help with anything more. Thank you for helping me before, but I'm done with this. Just answer my questions and answer them straight. Where am I? Who are you? What's happened to me? Are Mickey and Jackie okay?" For her own sake, she purposely left out the part about her never being able to leave. She knew she was in too fragile a state of mind to think about it at the moment.

The man before her slumped his shoulders a bit and stuffed his hands back into his pockets, looking a bit like a kicked puppy, but trying to hide it. His gaze was fixed on the floor between them, not having the courage to meet her stern gaze. At last, he took a deep breath. "Mickey and Jackie are fine. They're in the lounge right now." Then, sensing she was going to ask, he added "I've known those two for a few years now. I'm good friends with Rose Tyler, Jackie's daughter and Mickey's girlfriend. They're good people and they trust me. I swear!" The Doctor dared to flick his eyes up and meet the gaze of the shorter woman for a fraction of an instant, lowering them to his shoes when he saw she was still very apprehensive.

"And the rest," she asked. The Time Lord ran a hand through his unruly hair and continued cautiously. "As I said before, I'm an alien to Earth. I'm a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey and--- No wait, just hear me out!" Persephone had let out an annoyed huff and had started to turn away from him at this, but the Doctor held out his hands in a 'wait stop' motion, and she stilled, eying him with unamusement.

"There's no such thing as aliens!" she exclaimed, arms splayed in front of her as if she was restraining herself from strangling him. "Just stop it! I've had enough! If you're not going to answer properly than just—"

"No, I am!" the Doctor exclaimed, mind rushing for some way to mend the situation. "I explained all of this yesterday! You seemed like you understood!"

Percy was having none of it, shaking her head stubbornly and backing up. "I wasn't in my right mind yesterday! You—you must have done something to me! There's no way I believe aliens are real! There's no way that I am one! That's just—that's just impossible!"

There was a war going on in the young Time Lady's mind. Her emotions, passions and logic were telling her that this man and his alien talk were complete balderdash; that he was just absolutely insane! Nevermind what Mickey and Jackie thought! Maybe they were in on it too! For the first time in her life, she had gotten close to new people and now this was happening! She wanted nothing more in the world than to flee from him, his weird box, and Mickey and Jackie and just go back to the life she had before; quiet, boring, and alone.

But at the same time, there was that nagging in the deep, unexplored parts of her soul that had been present ever since she met the Doctor that night in Jackie's. Something that was so random (and at the same time felt so right) told her to stop resisting this man and let him help her! It told her to trust him and to be close to him—that she needed to be close to him! The feeling wasn't rational, it wasn't even emotional! It was just... natural.

And it terrified her!

As she looked into the eyes of the man before her, the man that called himself 'the Doctor', her hearts started to thump erratically inside her chest and her airways started to close, leaving her breathless and choked. If she wasn't careful, she was going to have a panic attack right in front of him! Percy scrambled viciously to keep her head above the waves of panic, not wanting to be vulnerable in front of him. But she couldn't tear her eyes from his—something locked them together. Even when unwanted tears of panic started to prick at the corners of her eyes, she couldn't look away. She wanted to do something—anything—to run away, but her panic-flooded mind froze her limbs in place, rooting her to the spot and causing her start to choke from lack of air. She didn't know what was happening to her as the hot tears slid down her face and she started to turn pale and trembled, trying to inhale but failing. She just—she just wanted to be safe! She wanted to get away! She wanted to be alone! She wanted him to help her! She wanted—wait, what?!

That final thought sent her mind over the edge and Persephone started to hyperventilate, falling awkwardly to the floor and gasping like a fish out of water, face contorted in agony and hands clawing at her throat as if to remove whatever was choking her. All she could hear was the blood rushing in her ears and the crackle of static as desperation started to flood her tunneling vision. She couldn't hear herself wheezing and gasping, couldn't feel the pain in her right hand as she gripped her collar, couldn't feel the hands on her shoulders, or the desperate cries of the Doctor as he begged her to calm down and breathe.

She was going to suffocate!

She was going to die!

She couldn't breathe!

She—!

She—!

Relaxed...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In horror, the Doctor had felt the moment his Amarthin's mind snapped and she started to have a full-blown panic attack right in front of him. As soon as she had hit the floor, he had been at her side, grasping her shoulders and holding her upright to better allow air to pass into her lungs. "Persephone," he pleaded steadily, trying to prevent himself from having a panic attack himself. "Percy, just breathe," he said. He had cradled the back of her head with one hand and used the other to latch onto her own fingers to prevent them from clawing at her throat. "Just breathe, darling, it's alright." He didn't know what made him call her that, but he didn't care. "Calm down, you're okay. I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry! This is all my fault!"

He tried everything! He pleaded, adjusted her position, tried to give her instructions on breathing strategies, but she just couldn't force the air into her lungs and she started to turn blue! 'That's it,' the Doctor thought. 'Persephone, I'm sorry.' He had just gotten her back, and he'd be damned if he lost her again! With that thought, he bundled her struggling form into his arms to hold her still and bent down, resting his right temple against her left and forcefully prying open her mind to let him in. 

With their Amarthin bond (no matter how under-developed it was) the task was easier and more natural, but the sensation was still strange. It had been centuries since he had last been inside the mind of another Time Lord, and the feeling of familiarity and nostalgia washed over him like a cleansing rain. Sure, he had sort of been inside her mind when he had saved her from the separation pains in the alleyway, but that had been only on the surface, not like the deep mind connection they were having now.

But the Doctor's joy screeched to a halt as he heard the blood-curling screams of his Amarthin inside of her head. She was literally drowning in her thoughts, bobbing up and down in the sea of cold panic, surfacing to splutter and choke for a moment before being dragged under again, whipped back and forth as if in a riptide. The feeling had been like a blow to the stomach for him, and before he had even registered what was happening, the fear that surrounded him started to close in on him as well.

The Doctor had never been as gifted in telepathy as some of his other Time Lord friends had been, but he was strong enough to be able to resist the onslaught of thoughts and use his own abilities to force them back from his Amarthin's mind, slowly starting to replace the feelings of helplessness, panic, and terror with feelings of safety, calmness, and peace. Little by little, he felt Persephone's mind be set free from its restraints and with a little more prodding, her lungs heaved open and cool, life-giving air had filled them, her hearts resuming their normal behaviors.

At last, her mind was calm and dark, the panic having been banished. For a moment, neither Time Lord moved—they just remained where they were, minds wrapped in each other's embrace and free from all thought of the outside world. For the first time in Percy's life, she felt safe. She didn't feel the urge to run or be alone, she just wanted to stay where she was in perfect comfort, allowing herself to be protected and comforted.

After a few minutes, however, the Doctor felt that she was completely recovered and withdrew from her mind, leaning back and watching her face for any signs of emotion. He was overwhelmed with relief that she was okay again, but was terrified that she would be angry at him for invading her mind uninvited.

So when she opened her eyes and met his gaze, he softly asked "Are you alright?" Percy nodded and then glanced around the room, trying to register what had just occurred. The Doctor let her sit up, removing his hands and shifting away from her to give her space. He saw the confusion in her eyes and the thoughts trickling through her mind as her brows furrowed. "What happened," she whispered, finally looking back at him.

The Time Lord swallowed but didn't back down. "I told you," he said gently. I'm an alien and so are you. A trait of our species is that we're telepathic. When I saw the severity of your panic attack and how you weren't responding to anything I did, I forcefully banished the thoughts from your mind."

Percy knew that she should be calling him an ass (or at least being skeptical) but after what had just occurred—what she had just felt inside her mind—she believed him. Besides, she was just too exhausted to think properly. Between the lack of sleep the night before and the panic attack she just had, she was about ready to collapse. But she forced herself to remain alert.

"What does this mean," she whispered. Her question was simple enough and said with total calmness, but the Doctor knew that how he responded would shape the course of their relationship forever. So he stuck to the simple truth: "It means that your mind is realizing what it truly is and is starting to adjust. You're basically being born again! That pain you felt in the alley way will continue as long as you're separated from me."

He waited with bated breath for his Amarthin to respond. He watched as she sat there, leaning back on one elbow as she collected her thoughts. In her mind, Persephone still felt the after effects of the mental connection, which made her feel all warm and subdued. But it didn't affect her mind. She was still able to think rationally and while she was now convinced that the man before her was an alien (but not that she was as well), she still knew that she couldn't stay. Her phobia just wouldn't allow it. Crippling pain aside, she would have to find a way to leave, no matter how much it hurt him or herself. 

Finally, she spoke, and the words she said made the Doctor's blood run cold and his hearts plummet to his feet. "I understand what you're saying," she said. "But you know I can't stay here. This is all too much for me. You can't make me. I'll fight till my dying breath to escape." She looked into his eyes and finished, "And I'm sorry, but I just. can't. stay."

The Doctor's hearts were filled with the heavy feeling of absolute wretchedness as he slowly stood and made his way to the door, where he paused. Turning back slightly, but unable to meet her gaze, he struggled to find something to say, finally settling with "Get some rest." Then he opened the door and closed it behind him, slumping against it and sliding to the floor, where he burrowed his hands in his hair. "Oh Persephone," he mumbled miserably. "You just don't understand. I can't let you go."


	14. The Checkup

Later that afternoon, The Doctor, Persephone, Mickey and Jackie were in front of the Tardis saying their goodbyes. (Percy didn't know how the box jumped from that ally to the Powell Estate, but she just added it to her growing list of questions.)

Persephone was in a lot of mental anguish as Mickey and Jackie started to walk back toward her flat. 'I hate this plan. I hate this plan. I hate this plan. I hate this plan,' was playing in her mind on repeat as she stood next to the blue doors with her head down and her hands shoved in her hoodie's (which she had regained) pockets. 

It had been decided for her that the Doctor would take Percy somewhere where it could be proven to her that she was a Time Lord; somewhere like a hospital or something (though she didn't know what hospital would be able to tell that.) Jackie and the Doctor had been talking earlier that morning and had come to the random conclusion that a trip with the strange man would be good for the young woman (who had been vehemently shaking her head in protest at Jackie behind the Doctor.) But the woman didn't seem to notice and now, in the present, just as Percy made up her mind to run away, something utterly strange happened.

While talking with Jackie, the Doctor felt, in the back of his mind, his Amarthin grow agitated and scared. He felt through their faint bond that she was about ready to bolt and a flare of panic rose up in his hearts. Without thinking, he turned toward her and locked eyes with her. Instantly, she stopped squirming and stilled. Then he stretched a hand out toward her, never moving his eyes, and said calmly "Come with me." Before she knew what was happening, Persephone had rested her hand in his and allowed herself to be led back into the tall blue box.

The Doctor pulled Percy gently behind him by her hand, slowly leading her up the ramp and settling her down onto the pilot seat. Then, before she could react, he walked swiftly to the other side of the consul so that the time rotor was blocking him from her view.

There, he anxiously ran his hand through his tousled hair, eyes squeezed shut and lips mouthing curses at himself. Time Lords were always a race with hypnotic powers (some more skilled than others), but he hadn't mean to use them on his Amarthin! He hadn't meant to practically mind control her into doing what he wanted! Ugh! She was going to be so mad when she found out! It had just been a spur of the moment instinct when he saw he was going to lose her again! Oh God, he had to be more careful in the future. Plus, with how deprived her mind was, he wasn't sure if any kind strenuous telepathic connections could hurt her. She already didn't trust him! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!

"Alright," the Doctor said, pushing aside his self-loathing and embracing the idea of an adventure. He jumped to and fro around the consul, pressing buttons, pushing leavers, and twisting knobs, causing the Tardis to let out her characteristic wheezing and groaning noises. Persephone's head jerked up at the sudden burst of noise, blinking in confusion as she tried to make sense of how she got to where she was, but finding them shrouded in blurriness. Odd, she thought, but nothing compared to what was going on right now. What was going on?!

Percy leapt to her feet and glanced around wildly. "W-what's happening? What is this?!" She was knocked off her feet when the room lurched, sending her to the floor where she desperately grappled for a hand-hold. The Doctor, meanwhile, was giddy with excitement, all past worries forgotten as he said "We're flying, Persephone! We're flying into the future! Hold on tight!" With another massive jerk, Percy was sent tumbling toward the Doctor, who caught her around the waist and anchored them by holding onto the consul.

"It's alright," he said, trying to ignore how right it felt to have her in his arms. "It's normal for her to act this way. More fun too!" The young woman didn't respond, only subconsciously tightened her hold on his shirt and tried to keep her feet grounded.

With a final crash, the shaking stopped and the noise ceased and the two Time Lords were left tangled on the floor. Instantly, Percy shook his hold off, standing and brushing off her shirt, not seeing the quickly concealed look of hurt on the Doctor's face. 

"What was that?" she asked, looking around as if for signs of damage or danger. "What happened?" Before the Doctor could hoist himself to his feet, Percy had practically flown down the ramp and pulled open the doors, letting sunlight from outside stream in. She poked her head out and gasped.

What she saw was not the run down estate of cement and concrete flats, with the dreary London sky and dying vegetation. Instead, she found herself atop a large hill surrounded by a meadow, with the greenest grass she had ever seen blanketing it. Bunches of little white wildflowers dotted the hillside and a few small trees were rooted here and there. Next, she saw a vast blue lake that glittered as it reflected the rays of the bright sun that hung in the clear blue sky. 

But it was what was beyond this lake that utterly took her breath away. A city unlike any she had ever seen before loomed in the distance, shiny metallic buildings scratching the sky with their enormous peaks and hovercars whizzing all around them in mid-air, following some unseen highway.

The Doctor, having put on his coat, came up behind the young woman and peered out as well. "Ah!" he said, grinning. "Beautiful isn't it?" Percy, though she was unable to tear her eyes from the magnificent scene before, her asked "W-where are we?"

Gently, the Doctor placed his hand on the young woman's back (sending little sparks to them both) and gently pushed her out of the Tardis, though she immediately stepped away from his touch. He then stepped out beside her. Now that they were out, the sunlight beat down on them warmly and they could feel the cool breeze coming off the lake ruffle through their hair. The Time Lord soaked it all in with joy, absolutely over the moon that he got to share this moment with his bonded!

He spread out his arms and said loudly "It's the year five billion and twenty-three. We're in the galaxy M87, and this?" He glanced down at Persephone, who caught his gaze curiously. "This is New Earth." Another breeze blew past, carrying with it, curiously enough, the sweet scent of apples.

"Apples?" Percy found herself asking. Seriously, of all the things she needed answering, that was what she asked?! But the Doctor was unperturbed and stooped down to the ground and when he came back up, he had a few pieces of the green grass in his grasp. "Apple grass!" he said happily. He nudged the stalks of grass closer to her until she opened her hand and allowed him to drop them into it. Gingerly, as if not quite trusting it, she took one of the pieces and held it to her nose, smelling it delicately. The Doctor watched in delight as surprise passed across her face.

"Come on!" he said, practically skipping past her a little way down the hill. For a moment, he had reached out to grab her hand as he had always done with Rose, but had caught himself at the last moment, remembering Percy didn't like to be touched. Well, she didn't like to be touched by him. So, he walked on ahead of her, though he kept his mind open to hers to make sure she wasn't too far away. He didn't want a repeat of what happened back when they had been separated in that ally. He smiled gently to himself when he heard her footsteps a few feet behind him.

Don't misunderstand, Percy (though in awe with the sight before her) wanted nothing to do with the Doctor and this new world. Her instincts were screaming for her to run away, but where would she go? She had heard the doors of the blue box lock behind her after she stepped out, and she knew she'd get horribly lost if she tried to hide in this futuristic world, so she decided it was best to stick with the strange man for the time being until she could find someone who could take him away from her.

When she finally caught up with the Doctor, he was seated on his long brown coat, which he had spread out on the grass. He was leaning back on his elbows and gazing out over the lake with a serene expression on his face. When he saw Persephone approach, he smiled at her and patted the spot next to him, where she sat, leaving a spacious gap between them. 'What a great first trip of a new regeneration,' he thought. "Here I am on an adventure with my Amarthin! Who would have thought!?'

~*~*~*~

Deep beneath the enormous hospital, in a dank, dripping basement full of broken pipes and bits of old wiring, a piece of skin stretched out across a metal frame watched the electronic ball in front of her as her spy scurried closer and closer to the pair siting on the grassy hill. "What?! Could it be?!"

~*~*~*~

Out on the surface, the Doctor and Persephone were completely unaware of the little spider-like robot that was scampering closer and closer to them, its little red eye scanning their faces and sending the images back to its mistress under the hospital.

The Time Lord started to talk freely, his enthusiasm getting away from him "So, the year five billion, the sun expands and the Earth gets roasted. But even with the planet gone (all rocks and dust) the human race lives on, spread out across the stars! Soon as the Earth burns up, they get all nostalgic. Big revival movement. But then they find this place! Same size as the Earth, same air, same orbit. Lovely! Call goes out, the humans move in. Persephone, welcome to New New York on the planet New Earth! Well, technically it's the fifteenth 'New York' since the original, making it New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New New York!" There was pride in his voice, as if he himself had something to do with this strange city. He was practically beaming as he watched the cars zoom over his head.

His amazing speech fell flat, however, when Percy looked up at him confused and slightly disturbed. "What do you mean the Earth got roasted?"

The Doctor froze, mind reeling for a moment before he realized that he had forgotten to tell his bonded about time and space travel! 'Yet another thing I've screwed up,' he thought to himself angrily. At the rate he was going at, she'd never trust him if he kept springing all these bizarre realities onto her!

His brown eyes dropped to the ground, and his hand rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. "Uh right," he started weakly. He'd have to be careful --so so careful—how he said this. He must approach this conversation with caution. He must–

"We traveled through time and space billions of years into the future to a point when the Earth has been dead for many years and the humans have colonized a new planet."

Damn.

The words just flowed unfiltered through his lips before he got the chance to prevent them. In his mind, the Doctor was kicking himself once again for being so stupid!

"We what?!" Just as he feared, Percy didn't seem to be taking this news very well. She was now fully faced toward him, eyes wide in horror and jaw slightly dropped. "What do you mean we 'traveled through time and space?' What do you mean 'the Earth has been dead for many years?'"

The Doctor inwardly cowered back as he felt the heat of her stare boring down on him. Wow, he was such an idiot! This was worse than when he revealed to Rose that the Earth would be destroyed on Platform One! At least then she had known what the Tardis could do! Now he had to dig himself out of a deep pit without panicking Persephone and causing her to mistrust him even more!

"The Tardis," he began. He didn't want to start with 'I should have told you earlier,' because he knew she would respond with 'Well yeah!' and that wouldn't do much for him. So, he just told the plain truth. "The Tardis is a piece of technology from my--our home. It stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space, basically meaning it has the power to travel through time and space. That's also why it's bigger on the inside. We've traveled into the future, Percy, billions of years into it to a place far from Earth where humans have colonized."

The young woman looked at the sight before her with new eyes as she slowly came to accept that there was no way the Earth she knew could produce anything like this. She could have groaned in frustration; yet another thing to add to her list of impossibilities! But out of all of them, traveling through time and space seemed, surprisingly, to be the easiest to swallow. Perhaps it was because the evidence was right in front of her with no ulterior possibilities or maybe it was because of that little feeling in the back of her mind that told her to trust the Doctor's word. She chose to believe the former.

The Doctor watched anxiously as his Amarthin thought long and hard, gazing out over the city in front of her. He could feel, through their bond, that her mind was tossing explanations around. And he was shocked when she seemed to accept his word, turning to him and then saying "So why are we here?"

The Time Lord tried to cover up his surprise at how easy that conversation had gone, clearing his throat and saying "Well, New Earth has got one of the greatest hospitals of all time and I thought it would be a perfect place for you to get an outside opinion on your true biology." When he saw Percy's wary look, he quickly added "No don't worry! It won't be anything invasive. Likely just a little scan." She seemed a little more okay with that and followed the Doctor when he stood and gathered up his coat.

"So," he said cheerily, that child-like grin on his face. "Want to explore New Earth, so good they named it twice?" Percy just nodded and followed behind him as he headed toward a bridge that connected the little meadow they were on to the main city.

~*~*~*~

Beneath the hospital, Cassandra, in all her bitchy-trampoline glory, watched in fury as her spy continued to scurry undetected behind the mysterious pair. Though she didn't recognize their faces, she knew instantly who they were by the big blue box they had come in.

"The Doctor! I knew it," she sneered. "That dirty alien assassin." Her eyes narrowed in disgust and fury a the two.

"They're coming here, mistress!" Chip, Cassandra's cloned servant piped up. If she could, Cassandra would have puffed up with pride as she said "This is beyond coincidence. This is destiny! At last I can get my revenge on that son of a—"

~*~*~*~

"Bit rich coming from me, I know. But I can't help it! I just don't like hospitals. They give me the creeps." The Doctor's voice was light as they walked through the doors of the bright, sterile hospital. A speaker called out in a slow, calm voice "The Pleasure Gardens will now take visitors carrying green or blue identification cards for the next fifteen minutes. Visitors are reminded that cuttings from the gardens are not permitted." Figures draped all in white walked here and there, and a few visitors sat on benches or talked to each other.

But the Doctor didn't seem impressed as he looked around as if searching for something. "No shop," he said frowning. "I like a little shop." Percy gave him an incredulous look as he pointed past her at a spot along the wall. "Are we going to get me a check-up or not," she asked. Personally, she wouldn't have minded at all if she didn't get one.

"Right," the Time Lord said, getting his mind back on topic. He lead them over to the desk and bopped his hand on the little bell resting on it, making it let out a sharp *DING!* Briefly, Persephone wondered why little bells like that one were still around so far in the future. But her musings were cut short when one of the figures in white approached and removed the veil covering her face, revealing they eyes, nose, fur, and whiskers of a humanoid cat.

Percy instinctively recoiled in shock, mouth open and eyes wide. "Oh my god!" she exclaimed softly before she could stop herself. The cat-lady just looked at her with mild offense before the Doctor was at the young woman's side gently scolding her, saying "Now Persephone, don't be rude! They're only cat-people! They're not so different from you and me!" Then he turned to the cat-lady and said "I'm sorry about my friend; we're new here and she's not used to alien life forms and I'm afraid you may have surprised her."

The lady sniffed pompously and said courtly, "To the Sisters of Plentitude, appearance means nothing. I hope your companion can learn this as well, as there are many species on New Earth with features different from your own."

The Doctor just nodded and grinned friendly. "Oh absolutely! And your name is..." The cat looked at him and said "Sister Lann." "Excellent!" he exclaimed. Then he turned to Persephone and gestured her forward. "Now this is Persephone and I'm the Doctor. I'd like to have a full DNA and mental brainwave scan on her please. We'd like to find out her species. Oh, and could you also heal her hand?" The nun nodded and started to type on a holographic computer. "Will that be all," she asked. The Doctor thought and then added "You know what? Do the scans on me as well, just for clarity's sake." The cat-lady/nun nodded and then gestured for them to follow her.

The Doctor followed along behind Sister Lann, conscious of Persephone silently trailing a few feet behind him. Said girl was gazing in absolute wonder at the building around her, but never let her guard down. Not even for a second. She was constantly aware of all potential exit routes and was not ignorant of the eye the Time Lord had on her. But she followed anyway, despite her growing anxieties, as she felt that strange compulsion to trust the Doctor that had been present ever since she met him, which disregarded all logic.

At last, they were led through a hall and into a little white room that closely resembled the usual check-up rooms in Old Earth hospitals. There was a hospital bed with paper over it, a desk off to the side, some cabinets, a little wheelie-stool, and a single chair. On the wall was a framed picture of the words "Hope, harmony, and health" in fancy script.

Sister Lann gestured for Percy to sit on the bed, which she hesitantly did. In her mind, she was calculating how many movements it would take for her to jump off the bed, evade the doctor, open the door, and bolt outside, if need be. The man in question sat atop the wheelie-stool and proceeded to gently push himself back and forth across the cold linoleum floor.

~*~*~*~

Beneath the hospital, Casandra cursed in frustration. "Where are they? Our plan can't work if they don't use one of the lifts!" Chip nodded in agreement and sprayed his mistress with the moisturizer. "Don't worry, Mistress," he said. "I will make sure that the Doctor and the girl come to you!"

~*~*~*~

A few minutes of awkward silence later, there was a soft knock on the door and Sister Lann came in with a few objects on a tray. She shooed the Doctor from the wheelie stool (much to his disgruntlement) and made him sit in the chair by the bed. Then she took one of the devices from the tray and swiped it across Persephone's forehead. When she withdrew it, it let out a few light beeps and pips. Seemingly satisfied, Sister Lann recorded a few notes on her clipboard and then turned to the Doctor, doing the same procedure on him. 

Five minutes later, all the tests had been done on the two Time Lords and Percy's broken hand had been treated once again, this time with a very light flexi-plaster cast that would heal her hand in less than two days. The Doctor hoped that was the last time it would have to be bandaged! The nurse then left to evaluate the information she had collected, leaving Percy and the Doctor in an awkward silence. A few minutes later, Sister Lann returned. 

"The results are taking longer than anticipated to complete," the cat said primly. "I would estimate that they should be finished in about forty-five minutes. In the meantime, why don't you go to the pleasure gardens? Here, I have two purple cards for you. Just give them to the sister at the door." She procured from her habit two purple credit card-sized rectangles and handed one to the man and woman. Then she turned and exited, leaving the door open behind her.

Percy warily hopped off the bed, eying the card in her hand. "So," she started. She really didn't want to talk to the Doctor, but she was on an alien planet with no idea of the customs or anything, so she figured it was best for herself to stick near him. "Are we going to these 'pleasure gardens' then?"

The Doctor's head snapped up, surprised but pleased that she was talking to him. He made sure his voice chipper and light as he responded "Nah! I just got this! A message on the psychic paper." He showed her a wallet with a piece of paper in it with the words 'Ward 26. Please come' scrawled on it.

"Well what's that mean," Percy asked. "It means someone sent me a psychic message through the paper! It can also show whatever I want it to. Pretty handy for getting into places." He returned the wallet to his pocket and started out the door, secretly keeping an eye on his bonded behind him. "I think we should pay this mystery person a visit, don't you?" Percy just shrugged but had no choice but to follow him.


	15. Cassandra

Once they had made their way to the front entrance area, the Doctor made a beeline for the lifts, sprinting as to get to them before the doors shut behind a man who had just exited one. In his moment of distraction as he rejoiced in his success, he realized too late that the doors were closing and his bonded was not there. Instead, he saw her several feet back and when she looked up and saw him behind the rapidly closing doors, fear flashed across her face and her hearts jolted for a reason she couldn't explain.

"No no wait!" The Doctor called as he rushed to stop the lift, but it was too late and the doors shut. Frantically, he looked for an 'open doors' button, but (in accordance with the technology of that era, there were no such things and everything was voice activated. The Time Lord swallowed to calm his nerves and pressed his ear against the cold doors calling out "Percy?! Percy take the other lift and go to ward 26!" He didn't know if she had heard him, but it was too late, as the AI in the lift had heard him say 'ward 26' and had begun to move upward. "And watch out for the disinfectant!" After that, there was nothing else he could do but wait for her to join him in the ward.

Already, he could feel the twinge in his hearts as he was separated from her. He knew she would likely feel nothing (or at least would brush the feeling off) but he knew that it was their bond reacting at the distance between them. He'd have to get a bio dampener on her soon, or those feelings could get a lot more painful!

~*~*~*~

On the main floor, Percy was left staring at the doors that had just shut in her face. There were two thoughts splitting her mind as her hearts thudded against her ribs. First, her brain screamed that this was the perfect opportunity to escape the Doctor, find help, and get back home! Surely if all these aliens around her were super high-tech, they would be able to get back to London, right? And perhaps they could travel in time too, so the billions of years between now and the London she knew wouldn't be a problem?

But the second thought was much more powerful, overwhelming her senses and causing a brainstorm of emotions. Get back to the Doctor! Find the Doctor! Where is the Doctor? These thoughts momentarily filled her mind to the brim and pushed out all rationality, and before she knew what she was doing, she was sprinting toward the lifts and jabbing at the button repeatedly. The door had barely opened when Persephone burst through, searching the walls for a button to press. But there was none. And when the doors slid shut and the quietness of the small space enveloped her, her mind cleared.

'Okay,' she thought. 'I don't know what these flashes of fear and desperation are, or why I have these impulses to be near the Doctor, but they have got to stop. It must be some kind of alien thing to make sure I don't wander off! I've got to get out of here!' But still, no buttons turned up and she resorted to slapping the walls, trying to find a control panel or something. Finally defeated, she called out "Get me out of here!" Then, to her surprise, the whole room jerked and she felt herself traveling downward.

'Huh,' she thought. 'Voice activated. It must be taking me to an exit.' For the first time since she had met the Doctor, Persephone felt at peace. The lift was taking here somewhere where she could leave the hospital, and from there, she would find someone she could trust to take her back home. And, she reasoned, even if she couldn't get back, there was a whole city out there for her to explore and get lost in! If worst came to worst, she could just settle down in the alleys of New New York!

"Commence stage one disinfection."

And after a while, she wouldn't even know she had left London! After all, adapting to her surroundings with no help from others was kind of her---

Persephone let out an unearthly screech of shock as a shower of luke-warm water that tasted of chemicals soaked her from head to toe. She tried to evade the jets, but no matter where in the small lift she moved, the water followed! At last, the shower turned off and Percy was left panting and shivering, desperately trying to push her long dark hair out of her eyes.

But no sooner had she recovered from the water, when a puff of fine white powder was emitted from the walls and ceiling, coating her fully and getting into her eyes, nose and mouth. Once more, she screeched, trying to clean off her hands enough to rub her eyes without getting more of the powder in them. She coughed as well, her lungs trying to clear themselves of the foreign substance. Now wet, shivering, and covered in a smelly powder, Percy was regretting coming with the Doctor more than ever.

What came next, however, was a pleasant surprise. A firm but gentle breeze of warm air enveloped her and she instantly felt better. At last, when the doors to the lift opened, the powder had dissolved and the water evaporated and the young woman was left completely dry and smelling a little like apples. Her hair was a bit crazy, but she was used to it, what with living on the streets and all.

~*~*~*~*~

The Doctor, however, had an entirely different experience with the disinfectant. When the spray of water came on, he stood still and closed his eyes, waiting for it to stop. Then he smartly kept his eyes and mouth shut when the powder was puffed at him and at last, he smiled as he held his coat open to dry and ran his fingers through his hair, thoroughly enjoying himself as the warm air dried him off.

~*~*~*~

When Persephone stepped out of the lift and into the dark, musty-smelling corridor, she instantly looked around, searching for someone to help her get out of the hospital. "Hello," she called.

"The child is clean!"

Percy whipped around to see a man with pale gray skin and strange markings dressed in scrubs stand with a hunch slightly down the hall. There was no one else around, so Percy knew he had to be talking to her. "Can you help me," Percy asked, voice shaking. He was dressed in scrubs, after all, surely that meant he was a nurse or something?

The man turned and hobbled down the corridor, away from her. "This way, Persephone," he said. The young woman briefly recoiled at the sound of her name, but summed it up as futuristic technology of some kind. "Yes," she said. "I'm coming!"

She followed the man down the dim hall that was vastly different from the environment she had seen in the rooms upstairs. While those had been white and sterile, with reflective surfaces and nuns in habits, down here, it was so dark and it smelled like decay and there were pipes and rubble on the ground. Percy continued to follow, though warily now. After all, maybe this was normal in the future? Or maybe this man had sensed her fear and urgency and this was a secret way to get out of the hospital without anyone knowing?

"Can you help me?" she asked. Percy tried to keep one eye on the strange man while watching her footing as well, as to not trip and scratch herself on a bit of rusty metal. "Please! I was brought here by someone I don't know and I just want to go home!" Percy could feel her airways closing up as her chest constricted with mounting panic. She was in denial, of course, that this man was leading her somewhere safe. She knew, down in the depths of her hearts, that where she was being led was not the way out of the hospital. "Please!" she begged. Her voice was not much more than a croak now, as desperation choked her. To hell with appearing weak! She just wanted to go home!

Finally, the man disappeared through a doorway covered in plastic flaps, behind which, Percy could hear the sound of a party. Cautiously, she approached and pushed back the flaps, revealing a room similar to the run down ones she had just walked through. But there was an old-fashioned camera reel operating, projecting the moving image of the party she had heard from outside. There were men dressed in fine suits in the video, who were surrounding a beautiful woman with golden curls wearing a glittering dress. By the look of it, she was the absolute life of the party, with everyone just fawning all over her. Percy couldn't say she was impressed, though. She hated parties (not that she'd ever been to one.) They were all small talk and formalities and lots of people in a small space. Percy looked away from the video, as it was already giving her anxiety.

"Peekaboo!"

Persephone jumped and spun around at the female voice. Her eyes darted around the small room before finally settling on a metal frame with a large piece of skin stretched over it. There were two big blue eyes and a pair of thin red lips that were settled in a smirk on it.

Percy gaped. Did that—thing—just talk to her? "Oh I know, it's shocking, isn't it? I've had by chin removed! But don't stare, child, come closer!" It did! Needless to say, Percy did not go closer, but instead stayed practically glued to the far wall.

"Who are you?" she demanded in a voice that she hoped would be firm, but just came out shaky and afraid. "My name is Cassandra, my dear," the skin flap said. "And your Doctor and I go way back!" Percy's interest was piqued. "You know the Doctor?" If the flat face could scowl, she assumed it was doing so as Cassandra hissed "That Time Lord murdered me! We had met on Platform One oh so long ago and he had denied me my moisturizer, so I died. Thankfully, I had skin left to spare. Chip! Moisturize me! Moisturize me!"

Persephone's head was reeling. What did she mean the Doctor murdered her? Was he dangerous? Was she next? And was what Cassandra looked like normal for some types of aliens? But at the moment, those questions weren't important. What was important was that she found help and got out of there. And although she wasn't sure how much help a slab of talking skin and a large Gollum could be, they were currently her only hope of escaping the Doctor.

"Can you help me," Persephone asked, slowly approaching Cassandra. "Please! I'm trying to get away from the Doctor! He's kidnapped me!" There were tears gathering in her eyes and her voice was shaking with emotion. "I just want to go home!"

"Come here, child," Cassandra said gently. Percy slowly approached and stood a few feet from the skin. The blue orbs looked Persephone up and down, taking in her long dark hair, pale skin, and dainty features. She tried to asses her curves, but the big hoodie the girl was wearing was preventing her from doing so, though her skinny jean-clad legs were slim and a little bit foxy. Yes, she thought. She could make do with this body.

"How about I make you a deal," Cassandra said at last, a plan forming in her brain (which was in a tank on the table next to her). "You help me get revenge on the Doctor, and I'll help you get away from him."

Percy paused. Was she serious? She would help her escape the Doctor? But what was this 'revenge' she spoke of? She shifted on her feet, wringing her hands nervously. Was it really wise to employ the help of a strange alien against the man who brought her there and was her only ticket to going back to her home?

"I'll do it."


	16. Possession

In the next instant, a cloud of pink particles flew out of the flab of skin and into Persephone's face, causing the young woman to stumble back with a loud gasp. Off to the side, Chip watched in worry as his mistress struggled to gain control of her new body.

"Oh... oh my!" In an instant, Cassandra-Percy jumped up off the ground and stumbled over to a mirror. "Let me see! Let me see!" she cried, brown eyes shining with excitement. For the first time in decades, she had a body! The first thing she did was remove that big ugly sweatshirt and then assess the curves underneath. 

Oh yes, she would do quite nicely! Cassandra ran her hands down her sides and felt the defined curvature of her hips. She sashayed them from side to side slightly and grinned. "Nice and dainty," she praised. "Curvy but elegant! This is my kind of body!" She brought a hand up to her long dark hair that was freshly washed from the disinfectant. "Could do with a bit of hair-styling though." She leaned in close to the mirror and puckered her new lips, then nibbled them slightly, making them just the slightest bit swollen. "Oh yes," she exclaimed. "With a face like this, I'll be at the top of society again in no time!"

At last, she was finished admiring her new body and held a hand out to chip. "The perfume, please," she commanded, simultaneously drawing her hair over one shoulder and leaving the other completely bare except for the thin strap of the tank top. When it was handed to her, Cassandra took the little vial and tucked it between her breasts, afterward tugging her shirt down ever so slightly to expose just the slightest bit of cleavage. Oh, she was so naughty!

At last, she was ready to go. "Alright," she said, resting her hands on her hips. "Chip, I'll head up to ward twenty-six while you get down to the pod chamber. I'll meet you there. If all goes according to plan, I'll use the Doctor to find out what these nuns are hiding and we'll be rich and living the high life in no time again!" Honestly, Chip couldn't care less. As long as his mistress was happy, so was he.

~*~*~*~*~

The Doctor entered Ward twenty-six feeling fidgety. He just couldn't help himself! Being separated from his Amarthin again left him with an unbearable hole in his hearts and he had to fight down the urge to force their barely-made mental connection to find her again! After their little episode in the Tardis when he stopped her panic attack, the bond sparked minutely, not enough to make any real difference, but enough. But he stopped and took a deep breath. She had been right behind him. She knew what floor he was on and he knew that she would have immediately taken the next lift after him. She'd be okay. A little separation never killed anyone.

With one more deep breath, the Time Lord began down the long spacious halls and nearly ran into a cat-nun-nurse.

"Oh hello!" he chirped, a bright smile masking the twinges in his hearts. "I'm the Doctor and I was told to meet someone here. Not really sure who it was, it was an anonymous request, so I was wondering if you knew." The nun turned to him and her piercing yellow cat-eyes met his warm brown ones. "A pleasure to meet you, Doctor. My name is Sister Jatt. If you'd come with me, I'll see if we can find this patient."

As they walked, the Doctor turned his head from side to side, taking in the sterile white walls and the minimal décor. "Nice place you've got," he said, hands stuffed in his pockets. "No shop downstairs though. I'd have a shop. Not a big one. Just a shop. So people can... shop."

Sounding the tiniest bit annoyed at his childishness, Sister Jatt removed her veil and responded courtly "This hospital is a place of healing." But the Doctor was quick to reply "A shop does some people a world of good! Not me. Other people." He wasn't sure what it was, but it seemed this new regeneration was obsessed with little shops in hospitals! How strange!

Once more, Sister Jatt responded promptly "The Sisters of Plentitude take a lifelong vow to help and to mend. There is no time for little shops." The Time Lord frowned dejectedly. Well that was no fun.

"Excuse me!" a shrill voice from the cubical they had just passed called. "Members of the public may only gaze upon the Duke of Manhattan with written permission from the Senate of New New York!" The two stopped and peered inside, seeing a prim woman in business attire with a no-nonsense look on her face. Behind her was an enormous man dressed in fine clothes of velvet and gold, with skin the color and texture of stone.

The Doctor couldn't help himself and he took a step into the cubical. "That's Petrifold Regression, right?" The Duke sighed in agony, obviously in great pain. "I'm dying, sir," he griped. "A lifetime of charity and abstinence, and it ends like this." The Doctor quirked an eyebrow. Certainty didn't look like he lived a life of abstinence.

"Any statements made by the Duke of Manhattan may not be made public without official clearance!" "Frou Clovis," the Duke interrupted, "I'm so weak." The uptight lady turned to the nun. "Sister Jatt, a little privacy, please!"

With a gentle nod, Sister Jatt drew the curtain around the Duke's cubical and started to lead the Doctor away. "He'll be up and about in no time," she said when she saw the troubled look on his face. Unfortunately, that only made his frown deepen. "I doubt it. Petrifold Regression? He's turning to stone. There won't be a cure for, oh... a thousand years? He might be up and about, but only as a statue!"

Jatt gave him a queer look out of the corners of her eyes. "Have faith in the Sisterhood," she said. Before he could comment, she continued in a slightly louder voice. "But is there no one here you recognize? It's rather unusual to visit without knowing the patient."

"No I think I've found him."

Off in the far corner of the room stood a familiar glass tank. It was huge, reaching nearly eight feet tall, and it contained one gigantic head. A familiar head.

"Novice Hame," Sister Jatt said, drawing close to a younger cat-nun who stood by the tank. "If I can leave this gentleman in your care?" Hame nodded and Jatt turned to leave. "Oh wait a moment!" the Doctor called. "I think my friend got lost. Persephone. Could you ask reception? We came to give her a check-up and we got separated. It's terribly important I find her." The nun nodded. "Certainly, sir." Then she walked away.

Once she was gone, Novice Hame turned to the visitor, who had squatted down by the tank. "I'm afraid the Face of Boe's asleep," she said softly. "That's all he tends to do these days. Are you a friend, or..."

"We met just the once on Platform One," the Doctor replied in an equally soft voice. "What's wrong with him?"

"I'm so sorry. I thought you knew..." Hame lowered her eyes sadly. "The Face of Boe is dying."

The Doctor's hearts clenched. "Of what?" "Old age," was the reply. "The one thing we can't cure. He's thousands of years old. Some say millions, although that's impossible." The Time Lord only smirked, though the comment 'the one thing we can't cure' did catch his attention. "Oh I don't know. I like impossible." Then he rested a hand against the glass and addressed the giant head inside. "I'm here. I look a bit different, but it's me, it's the Doctor."

~*~*~*~

After a few minutes of getting no response from the head and no sign of his Amarthin, the Doctor became restless. So he got up and went to a water cooler and filled two little plastic cones with the cool liquid. Then he brought them back and handed one to Hame, who was seated on a stool beside the tank.

"That's very kind," she said, smiling. "There's no need."

The Doctor only shrugged. "You're the one working."

Hame sighed. "Well there's not much to do; just maintain his smoke. And I suppose I'm company. I can hear him singing sometimes, in my mind. Such ancient songs..."

"Am I the only visitor?"

"The rest of Boe-kind became extinct long ago. He's the only one left. Legends say that the Face of Boe has watched the universe grow old. There're all sorts of superstitions around him. One story says that just before his death, the Face of Boe will impart his great secret, that he will speak only to the ones like himself."

Well that certainly piqued the Doctor's interest. "What does that mean," he asked, although he already had an idea. The cat just shrugged once more. "It's only a story." "Tell me the rest." Hame gazed deeply at the giant head in front of her, as if trying to understand the mysteries that surrounded him as she spoke "It's said that he'll talk to a pair of wanderers. To the man without a home and his Goddess of Spring. The lonely Gods."

The Doctor was speechless. The Face of Boe had a message for him! But who was his 'Goddess of Spring?' Could it be Persephone? After all, the Greek legend of Persephone named her the Goddess of Spring. Could that be it? He decided not to ponder on it any longer, at least until he got his Amarthin back by his side. He couldn't think knowing she was out there somewhere!

He decided to walk around the ward again to get his mind off of her. When he passed one cubical in particular, he was met with cheers of praise from a definitely not-stonified Duke of Manhattan! "It's that man again!" the Duke cried, pointing a fat finger at the Doctor. "Come on in, Don't be shy!"

The Doctor politely took a step closer and stuck his hands in his pockets, trying to be happy for the man while at the same time feeling strangely disturbed that he was cured.

"Any friendship expressed by the Duke of Manhattan does not constitute a form of legal contract!" Clovis, the annoying and shrill-voiced secretary of the duke snapped. But the Duke didn't seem to really care for all the formalities, exclaiming "Winch me up! Up!" Then when he was seated upright, he held out his arms to the sides, showing of his cleared skin. "Look at me! No sign of infection!"

"Champagne, sir?" a waiter asked. "Uh, no thanks," the Time Lord replied. Alcohol in a hospital ward with terminally (or supposed to be terminally) ill patients? What kind of hospital was this? "Anyway, you had Petrifold Regression, right?"

The Duke took a large swig from his own champagne flute and said in a jolly voice "'Had' being the operative word. Past tense. Completely cured!" That churning in his gut that told him something wasn't right multiplied tenfold and he couldn't help but say "But that's impossible..."

"Primitive species would accuse us of magic, but it's merely the tender application of science." The Doctor turned sharply to address the cat that had appeared beside him, looking so very comfortable and smug. "How on earth did you do it?" She only smiled strangely, "'How on new Earth,' you might say."

At that flippent remark, the Doctor turned to face her fully and leaned down a little, lowering his voice to a no-nonsense tone. "What's in that solution?

"A simple remedy."

"Then tell me what it is."

"I'm sorry. Patient confidentiality! I don't believe we've met. My name is Matron Casp." The Time Lord ignored her outstretched hand and said darkly "I'm the Doctor." Casp gave him this look from under her furry eyebrows that made him certain there was something she was hiding. "I think you'll find we're the doctors here."

Before he could respond, Sister Jatt approached, saying "Matron Casp, you're needed in Intensive Care!" Casp turned and nodded at the Doctor. "If you would excuse me..." Then she turned and walked out of the ward with the younger nurse, the Doctor watching them suspiciously all the way.

~*~*~*~*~

The lift-ride up was a fairly long one, as it had to travel from the deepest basement to one of the highest wards. It did, however, give Cassandra time to try and perfect the accent that Persephone had been using. It would do no good for the Doctor to sniff out something wrong before she even got the chance to use him!

The lift was about a quarter of the way up when disaster struck.

Without warning, Cassandra's vision turned white with a blinding pain, scorching every nerve in her body! She instantly crumpled to her knees and her shaking hands came up to clench the sides of her head. It felt like her brain was expanding and contracting; stretching and tearing! What was this unbearable sensation!? She had never felt it before when she used a psycho-graft! She felt pops of torturous pain and electrifying waves of pulsing excruciating agony split her head!

All of a sudden, she could feel Persephone's consciousness, which was currently tucked away in a back corner of her mind, writhe and twist and tremble in torture. She was screaming, being pushed aside in her own head to make way for another person!

Just when Cassandra was about to beg for death in order to cease the pain, it all stopped and she was left sprawled on the floor of the lift, her voice hoarse from screaming, her body trembling, and her chest heaving. She didn't have time to collect her thoughts though, because with a *ding* the lift doors opened and exposed her to the sterile hall of ward 26.

Immediately, nurses and cat-nuns as well as a few visitors were swarming around her crumpled form, checking her vitals and asking her questions. She shook them off though, and when she had gotten her voice back, she told them she was Closter phobic and had had a panic attack. Everyone seemed to accept that answer, and after being given a cup of water, she was sent on her way.

Smoothing her hair once more and straightening her clothes, Cassandra set off through the large room inside Persephone's body. As soon as she found the Doctor, she would start dropping hints at secrets being kept beneath the hospital. Based on what she knew of him from their previous encounter on Platform One and because of information she had gathered on him, she knew it wouldn't be too hard to get him to investigate.

As it happened, the Doctor found Cassandra before she could find him. The Time Lord in question had once more begun his rounds around the ward, talking with patients and inquiring as to the nature of their diseases and treatments (though each time, the cat-nurse-nuns would shut the conversation down). At last, he had felt that familiar energy spark in his mind and soul and he knew that Persephone was in the ward, though when he turned around to find her, he nearly jumped back-- she was standing right in front of him!

"Wha- how did you-," he was left blabbering, pointing from the lift to her and to the spot she was standing. What he was trying to resolve was how his Amarthin had come so close to him before he even felt like she had entered the room! It was like their connection (however weak and underdeveloped it was) was lessened even further.

Cassandra, however, took the Doctor's floundering as surprise that she had snuck up on him like that. After all, she had no idea of the bond he and Persephone supposedly shared! "Here I am,' she said brightly, making the Doctor blink. Why was she so happy to see him?

"What took you so long," he asked, trying to uncover the reasoning behind this 180 degree flip in her attitude towards him. She only looked up at him innocently, hazel eyes coyly veiled by her lashes. It was then that the Doctor also noticed her substantial lack of clothing from when he had last seen her. Her large hoodie that had essentially covered her whole upper body in folds of soft fabric was nowhere to be seen, leaving the young woman's arms, shoulders, neck, and figure completely exposed, only being covered with a black tank top.

The Time Lord's eyes grew to the size of saucers as he tried to keep his gaze on her face. What the hell was going on?! "Er.." he stuttered. "W-what happened to your hoodie?" 

She answered flippantly "Oh it was just getting so hot that I just dumped it. It was an ugly thing anyway and did nothing for my figure." She then went to admiring herself, running her hands down her sides and then cocking a hip to one side, twirling a lock of dark hair around her fingers.

"Uh... well... uh..." 

Dammit where did his voice go? Stupid Time Lord instincts and social awkwardness! Finally, he managed to choke out "Are you okay?"

Persephone stopped messing with he hair and looked up at him boldly and curiously. "Of course I'm okay! C'mon, I think there's something strange going on around here..." She then turned and headed off through the ward, leaving the Doctor gaping behind her.

Something was definitely not right.


	17. The Resolve of an Amarthin

'Persephone', much to the Doctor's surprise, lead him straight over to the computer terminal over by the lift as if she did this every day. He watched with suspicion as his Amarthin (who he knew had never seen alien technology in her life) expertly tapped and typed on the screen with complete confidence. Something was going on with her, and he did not like it.

However, the Time Lord refrained from interrogating her, as he knew the hospital was up to something already, and if possessing Persephone was the Sisterhood's way of luring him in to 'dispose of him' or whatever, then he would have to tread very carefully, as showing that he knew their plan with her could cause them to harm her.

So he schooled his features and leaned around the young woman, tapping on the screen himself. "Nope, nothing odd," he concluded. And indeed, everything about the blueprints and information given to him lined up perfectly with the practices of the hospitals of this century. "Surgery, post-op, nano-dentistry... No sign of a shop! They should have a shop!"

"No, it's missing something else," Persephone stated, one hand resting on her hip as the other stroked her chin. She looked deep in thought. "When I was downstairs, those nurse cat nuns were talking about Intensive Care. Where is it?"

The Doctor's theory was being proved right once again, though he didn't let it show. "You're right. Well done." He looked down at the girl with a critical eye, trying to see past her physical features in order to gain clues as to what the Sisterhood was doing to her. How did they possess her in this way? Was it a CBM (Converted Brainwaves Manipulator)? Was it a drug? Hypnotism? Whatever it was, he would have to keep a close eye on her, as Time Tot minds were extremely fragile and any type of manipulation or overthrow could cause tremendous damage! Not for the first time (and certainly not for the last) he wished their Amarthin bond was more developed so he could find out what was wrong immediately. But he knew he couldn't push her too fast.

"Why would they hide a whole department," 'Percy' mused. She then turned back to the terminal and started tapping around. "It's got to be here somewhere. Search the sub-frame."

The Doctor decided to conduct a few more experiments. "What if the sub-frame's locked?" Percy looked at him with an expression that said 'I thought you were supposed to be smart.' "Try the instillation protocol." "Yeah, of course. Sorry." The Doctor used the sonic to scan the interface and not a moment later, the entire wall slid down, revealing a dark corridor.

"Intensive Care," the Doctor mused, poking his head in and looking around. He was subconsciously looking for dangers that could potentially harm his bonded. "Certainly looks intensive!"

Before he could say anything, Percy strutted past and entered the darkness, leaving the Time Lord to scramble to catch up with her, wincing as the wall snapped shut behind them, causing only the dim bulbs that hung overhead to be their light.

The flooring was made of filthy mental grates with machinery and buttons and nozzles and wiring covering the walls. Every few meters, there would be a rusty staircase that would take them down farther and farther into the heart of the hospital.

At last, the walls and ceiling opened up into a cavern of sorts and the two were confronted with a haunting scene: For as far as the eye could see, both up and down, there were thousands upon thousands of pods that glowed eerily green. The Doctor made his way over to one and after sonicking the locking mechanism, he pried the door open, the machinery letting out a hiss and a beep.

Inside was a sight that would stick in the Doctor's mind for a very long time. The cell door opened, revealing a man chained to the wall. He looked dead. His skin was a dull gray, covered in inflamed welts and grotesque black webbing, his eyes, lifeless and blank, though they stared imploringly at the Time Lord. 'Persephone' looked over the Doctor's shoulder and pinched her nose, face contorting in revulsion. "That's disgusting," she said unsympathetically. "What's wrong with him?"

But the Doctor couldn't answer her, as he gazed into the man's hopeless eyes. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I'm so sorry." He then closed the door and unlocked the next one over. Inside was a woman in the exact same condition.

"What disease is that," the young Time Lady asked. The Doctor was unable to tear his eyes away from the dying woman in front of him. He felt anger bubble up in the depths of his hearts as he replied "All of them. Every disease in the galaxy. They've been infected with everything."

"What about us," 'Percy' asked urgently, taking half a step away from the pod. "Are we safe?" The uncaringness of the girl no longer alarmed the Doctor, as he knew very well by now that there was someone else controlling her. "The air's sterile," he mumbled at last. "Just don't touch them." Then he closed the pod door.

Percy turned and gazed down the row of pods before asking "How many patients are there?" Inside her mind, Cassandra was having a field day. With blackmail like this, the Sisterhood would be forced to pay her a fortune! She was already imagining going to the cosmetic surgeons and getting minor 'improvements' on her new body!

But then the Doctor (a man who was useless to her now that he fulfilled his purpose of getting her into ICU) spoke, jolting her out of her daydreaming as he answered her question "They're not patients." That confused Cassandra. "But they're sick." The Time Lord turned away from her, face contorting in fury as he made his way over to the ledge that allowed him to see the thousands of pods. He gripped the railing and hissed "They were born sick. They're meant to be sick. They exist to be sick!" He swallowed thickly. "Lab rats. No wonder the Sisters have got a cure for everything. They've built the ultimate research laboratory. A human farm."

"Why don't they just die?" Truthfully, Cassandra couldn't have cared less, but she needed to know what was going on if she expected to use them for blackmail. "Plague carriers," the Doctor said sadly. "They're the last to go."

"It's for a greater cause."

The two turned quickly to see Novice Hame standing at the end of the row of pods, hands folded daintily in front of her. Instantly, the Doctor left the railing and rounded on her.

He was furious.

"Novice Hame... When you took your vows, did you agree to this?" Hame was not deterred. "The Sisterhood has sworn to help." "What, by killing?" "But they're not real people! They're specially grown. They have no proper existence!" Truly, Hame did not understand why the Doctor was so upset.

But the Time Lord was just getting started. He slowly stalked forward, eyes blazing as he approached the nun. "What's the turnover, hmm? Thousand a day? Thousand the next? Thousand the next? How many thousands? For how many years? How many?!"

Hame was trembling slightly now as she attempted to rectify herself and the actions of her order. "Mankind needed us," she said in a tone that was almost pleading. "They came to this planet with so many illnesses. We couldn't cope! We did try. We tried everything! We tried using clone-meat and bio-cattle, but the results were too slow. So the Sisterhood grew its own flesh. That's all they are! Flesh!"

"These people are alive!"

"But think of all those humans out there, healthy... and happy... because of us!"

"If they live because of this, then life is worthless."

At that, Hame's innocent demeanor shifted into something darker—something challenging. "And who are you to decide that?" The Doctor took another step forward, now nose to nose with the woman, practically radiating authority. "I'm the Doctor," he stated simply. "And if you don't like it—if you want to take it to a higher authority—then there isn't one. It stops with me." It was an incredibly arrogant thing to say, of course, but it was true.

Then 'Percy' piped up from behind them, having been silent the entire time as the woman inhabiting her mind plotted. "Just to confirm," she said in that weird, posh voice. "None of the humans in the city actually know about this?"

Hame's attention shifted to her, momentarily surprised by her question. "We thought it best not—"

"Hold on." The Time Lord held up his hands, stopping any further conversation between the two females. "I can understand the bodies. I can understand your vows. But the one thing I can't understand..." He turned to the nun, the infamous Oncoming Storm bubbling just beneath the surface of his brown eyes. "What have you done to Persephone?"

Hame was genuinely confused. "I don't know what you mean."

The Doctor shifted on his feet, using every bit of self-control he had in order to prevent himself from strangling the truth out of the woman. Normally, he was never this violent, but she was endangering his bonded. That was not a safe place to stand!

"And I'm being calm," he started. "Very, very calm. You want to be aware of that. Very very calm. And the only reason I'm being so very, very calm is because Persephone isn't a human, she's a Time Lord. A Time Lord child!" (Okay, she was more of a late teenager, but because of her unique predicament, her mind was just as fragile as one.) "Do you know just how delicate a Time Tot's mind is?! Whatever you've done to her head, I want it reversed. Now!"

Hame was gaping like a fish. "We- we haven't done anything!" The Doctor was about to go berserk on her but was stopped by Persephone herself, who, in this strange new cocky persona, laid a hand comfortingly on his shoulder. He looked down at her in surprise. "I'm perfectly fine," she purred.

But he wasn't fooled. He turned to face her fully and leaned down slightly to her level (she was a short little thing!) He jabbed a finder in the direction of the pods containing the infected 'patients' and exclaimed "Those people are dying and I know Persephone would care!"

Cassandra immediately dropped the act. Her posture slumped; one hip cocked to the side with her fist resting on it. She rolled her eyes. "Oh all right, clever clogs..." she gave in. She circled around until her chest was a fraction of an inch away from his, her fingers reaching up to grasp at the lapels of his jacket. "Smarty pants..." Then she expertly took hold of his tie and pulled on it, forcing the Doctor's head to drop. "Lady-killer..." The Doctor gazed into the eyes of his bonded, horrified at what was happening. "Who are you?" was all he could say. Definitely-Not-Percy leaned up and whispered into his ear "The Last Human."

The Doctor jerked his head back, utterly confused and more than a little disturbed, his face twisted into incredulity and disbelief. "Cassandra?" But he didn't get much time to do anything else, as his possessed Amarthin pulled something out of her shirt and sweetly declared "Wake up and smell the perfume!" Then she spritzed the contents right into his face, causing his eyes to immediately flutter closed and his legs to buckle, his body hitting the grated floor with a loud clang.

Instantly, Novice Hame was at his side, checking his pulse and examining his head for injuries. "I-I don't understand!" she exclaimed at last. Then she gathered her skirts and scurried off in a panic "I'll have to fetch Matron!"

Cassandra, however, was completely at ease, as he plan was going absolutely swimmingly! She had a perfect little servant in Chip, she had a beautiful body, she was getting revenge on the Doctor, and soon, she'd have a fortune granted to her by the Sisterhood! "You do that," she told the cat. "Because I want to talk to her. Now run along! Sound the alarm!" She then reached up and yanked a cable out of the wall, causing a blaring siren to sound.

Wasting no time, she and Chip struggled to drag the unconscious Doctor into the only empty pod available. Wow, for such a skinny bloke, he sure was heavy! Once he was inside, Cassandra strapped his arms down, closed and locked the door, and then synced it with the rest of the pods so that they would all be injected with diseases at the same time.

The former bitchy-trampoline felt an uncomfortable wiggling in her mind that bordered on painful. It wasn't nearly as bad as it had been in the lift, but it still made her clutch her hands to her head and remember the warning the Doctor had given to Hame: her mind was very delicate. Could her psychograft be damaging the young woman's brain?

Nah! She had used the psychograft before on children and nothing had happened! This was no different. The only deviant from the norm was that inside her mind, Persephone was not dormant but was struggling and writhing in anxiety and panic. She was banging on the walls of her trapped consciousness trying to escape the black, soundless box she was caged in.

But Cassandra had no more time to ponder on the issue, as she heard furious shouts of "Let me out! Let me out!" When she slowly approached the pod containing the Time Lord in question, she leaned arrogantly on the door, examining her nails. "Aren't you lucky there was a spare? Standing room only!" She couldn't help but giggle at her own little joke.

The Doctor, however, found it anything but amusing. "You've stolen Persephone's body!" His mind was racing with fear; not for himself, but for his bonded, whose consciousness was being compressed to make way for another whole person! Time Tot brains couldn't handle that kind of pressure!

But Cassandra (who he still couldn't believe was alive again) was too busy reciting the monologue she had rehearsed for just this moment "Over the years, I've thought of a thousand ways to kill you, Doctor. And now that's—"

She never got to finish her sentence, as that familiar pain from the lift came back ten-fold and caused her to crumple in on herself until she was lying on the ground in the fetal position, twitching, and screaming. It felt like her brain was being stretched to the point of tearing! Her nerves were wailing in agony! Her skull felt like it was being crushed under the weight of a tank! She couldn't hear her own screams, the screams of Persephone, or even the screams of the Doctor as he tried to snap her out of it.

The Doctor was having a full-blown panic attack. Trapped in his cell, there was nothing he could do but watch with tears running down his face as his Amarthin's mind was pushed to the brink of death. He shouted and screamed and pleaded as loud as he could for Cassandra to snap out of it and release his bonded, but the human woman couldn't hear. He tried to reach out to Persephone through their very weak mental bond, but because she was being held prisoner and was restrained in such as small portion of her mind, it was impossible.

It killed him- it killed him- to see his Amarthin (no matter if it was Cassandra in control) in so much pain, on the ground and begging for help. He was so stupid! It was all his fault! If he had kept a closer eye on her when he sprinted for the lifts, he wouldn't have lost track of her and she would never have met Cassandra!

'That's it.' He thought. 'As soon as we're back on the Tardis- and we will get back to the Tardis- I'm making her a bio-dampener. I can not watch her go through anything like this again!' 

If he did, he feared he'd actually go insane. It was the duty of a Time Tot's guardian (either their parents or their Amarthin) to make sure their delicate minds were kept safe from harm until they were old enough to have proper mental shields. With so much in the universe that could cause irreversible damage or death to a young Time Lord, having children or having a bonded was a very very serious matter. And while the Doctor had had children in the past (of whom he loved very much) he never got to care for them to the extent that he wished he could, as his own wife (through an arranged marriage) had alienated them from him. 

But when he felt that tell-tale sign of his Amarthin those few days ago in Jackie's house, his hearts soared with immeasurable joy! He got another chance! 

And he would NOT mess this up!


	18. Let Her Go?

At last, after nearly three minutes of agonizing torment (for both Time Lords), Percy's body finally relaxed into crumbled heap on the ground, shuddering in the aftermath of the pain and gasping for the breath her lungs had deprived her of. Chip rushed to his mistress's side as fast as he could, and assisted her onto her feet, though it seemed likely she would collapse again at any moment.

"You see," the Doctor asked softly, his eyes pleading for her to understand. "Persephone's mind is extremely fragile. What you just experienced was her brain trying to expel you, as it instinctively sees you as a foreign invader." He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing hearts. "Please, Cassandra! Please get out of her! Go into me! Anything! Just let her go before you ki-" The Doctor's voice broke momentarily, as he found it almost unbearable to finish the thought. "...before you kill her."

For a moment, it looked like Cassandra was actually contemplating his words. She stood there, leaning on Chip's arm, and allowed Percy's consciousness to float to the surface ever so slightly.

She was crying. Inside her mind, Persephone was weeping bitterly, clawing at the walls of her consciousness, confused, scared, and in outstanding amounts of pain. Though she wasn't aware of her surroundings, the thoughts of Cassandra, or even the movements of her own possessed body, she was instinctually terrified.

Though Cassandra didn't know it, what was happening was exactly what the Doctor had said a few days prior in the med bay to Percy: he had warned her that now that her mind had connected with his, it would be fatal for her to ever be separated from him over long distances or for great periods of time. And while Persephone currently was not far from her Amarthin physically, the immovable block the psychograft put on her consciousness prevented the Doctor's mind from reaching hers, thus causing the tremendous pain both she and Cassandra had felt.

But as quickly as it came, the moment was gone and Cassandra once more forced the young Time Lady's mind back into its prison. Then she straightened, smoothed out her shirt and snarled at the man in the pod. "You think I'm going to listen to the man who murdered me?! You think I'm going to give this poor girl back to you, the very man that she pleaded for me to help her escape from?! No! Now hushaby—it's showtime!" Then with a swish of her dark hair, she turned away.

But Cassandra's last statement had hit a very tender spot in the Doctor's hearts and caused him to sit back in the chamber, eyes wide in hurt and confusion. Had his Amarthin really been so desperate to escape him that she employed the help of a random alien she found on a distant planet? Did she really trust a talking piece of skin more than him- the man who had saved her life in the alleyway, revealed her true biology, given her a safe place to stay on his spaceship, bandaged her wounds, and offered her companionship? Was their bond really so weak, and Persephone's mind so damaged, that she not only didn't recognize their connection as Time Lords and Amarthins, but actually worked as hard as she could to get away from him? Was her phobia of settling down and having a family and friends really that bad? Was his constant watch over her actually harming her more than it helped?

The Doctor still felt that instinctual need to protect his Amarthin (and he knew nothing short of his own death would prevent him from doing so), but with the new revelation of Persephone's extreme hatred of him caused him to pause when it came to their future. For instance, he knew he had to free Percy from Cassandra's psychograft (that was obvious), but once she was free, should he take her back to her home on earth, give her a very strong bio-dampener, and then just release her and never see her again? Did he have the right to disregard her own views and desires in order to keep her safe? Did he have the right to practically keep her prisoner with him in the Tardis simply because of her species and connection to himself?

' No,' he thought to himself firmly, ignoring his aching hearts and pounding head. 'I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, I must focus on saving Percy from Cassandra and helping the people in these pods.' So, pushing the swirling thoughts aside, he tried to gaze through the filthy door and could barely make out the forms of Persephone's body interacting with Matron Casp a few yards away. The two were discussing the outrageous demands Cassandra was making in return for keeping the Sisterhood's criminal operations a secret. Unfortunately for her, the cat-nun blankly refused, and when she went to pounce on the woman with extended claws, Cassandra quickly jumped to plan B and yanked on a leaver, opening all the doors on their level.

As soon as the Doctor heard his own pod beep, he swung it open and climbed out, relief for not being infected by thousands of diseases and worry for his bonded coursing through his veins. "What have you done," he demanded of the woman as he watched dozens of 'patients' stumbling out of their own pods and wandering around with hopelessness and pain in their blood-shot eyes.

"I've just given the system a shot of adrenaline, just to wake them up," Cassandra said, feeling quite proud of herself. Then she turned on her heel and sprinted (a little clumsily) toward a door. "See you!" She found joy hearing the panicked spluttering of the Doctor as he frantically called after her "Don't touch them! Whatever you do, don't touch!" She could hear his footsteps gaining on her from behind, but didn't look back, focusing instead on placing her feet where she wanted them to go and avoiding tripping. (Jeesh, going nearly seventy years without a real body sure did make running difficult!)

Only several seconds later, a cacophony of beeps and scraping metal caused the Doctor and Cassandra to stop and peer over the nearest ledge, allowing them to view the entirety of the vast pod system. To their upmost horror, every single pod had opened, allowing thousands upon thousands of the infected to pour out. Several levels above, they watched as Sister Jatt was overrun by them and died screaming in agony as the diseases transferred into her own body.

"What the hell have you done?" the Doctor snarled, unable to look into the eyes of his Amarthin, knowing it was really Cassandra looking out of them. The woman was also afraid, though her fear was expressed through panic. "It wasn't me," she exclaimed as she eyed with terror the oncoming wave of patients.

The Doctor grit his teeth and latched a hand firmly on Cassandra's arm, steadily drawing her backwards. "One touch, and you get every disease in the world; and I want that body safe, Cassandra!" He didn't know what he would do with himself if Persephone was killed or forced to regenerate. Could she even regenerate this early in her life and with so little knowledge of her own body's abilities? "We've got to go down." "But there's thousands of them," Cassandra had the audacity to complain. But the Time Lord just grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward a stairwell himself and gave her a forceful shove, peering over his shoulder periodically to check on the progress of the infected. They were gaining quickly.

"Run! Down! Down! Go down!" he shouted, taking Cassandra's hand and dragging her down metal staircase after metal staircase in their effort to escape. Above, they heard a tannoy begin to drone the phrase "This building is under quarantine. Repeat: this building is under quarantine. No one may leave the premises. Repeat: no one may leave the premises."

The Doctor had to think of a plan, and fast! Regardless of Persephone's views on him and her biology as a Time Lord, it was his duty to protect her. And he'd be damned if he failed.


	19. Possession Ping Pong

"Keep going," The Doctor cried. Percy's hand was clenched tightly in his own as he dragged her down the stairs. "Go down!" All around them, they could hear the shuffling feet and labored breaths of the infected as they milled around, their stench filling the air.

Finally, when she saw a lift, Cassandra bolted to it and jabbed the up arrow repeatedly, as if the more she pressed it, the faster the lift would come. "Come on come on come on," she pleaded, hopping from foot to foot. But the Doctor, who had run past her slightly when she suddenly stopped, came back and yanked on her arm once again, tugging her back into motion. "The lifts have closed down," he said, keeping his gaze forward. "That's the quarantine. Nothing's moving." Thinking quickly, Cassandra called "This way!" and bolted down a new hallway, leaving the Time Lord to scramble after her.

"Mistress!"

The Doctor whipped around to see Chip (who he was guilty of completely forgetting about in his worry for Persephone) get cut off from them by a swarm of patients. There was fear in the half-life's big eyes, and when his beloved Mistress called for the Doctor to just leave him, they filled with sorrow.

Inside the Time Lord's mind, there was a furious battle going on. On one hand, he knew that Chip did not deserve to die in such a horrid way because of his selfish mistress, whom he was so devoted to. On the other, however, Persephone's life was at serious risk and time was quickly running out for her. He needed to get her to safety as quickly as possible or his Amarthin would die!

But there was never any real competition. As much as he loathed himself for it, the Doctor knew that he would always choose Persephone over anyone else in the universe. He remembered his thoughts when he was in the tank: that he'd be never forgive himself if he failed her. And that fact was still unchanged. As with all Time Lords, their Amarthins came first. No exceptions.

"I'm sorry," he cried out to Chip at last, already backing away toward where Cassandra had gone. "I can't let her escape!" Then before he could change his mind, he turned and bolted, hearing the distressed cry of "My Mistress!" disappear behind him.

When the Doctor finally caught up with Cassandra, she was in the middle of panicking. "We're trapped!" she cried, clenching her fists in her hair and spinning to analyze the room they found themselves in. "What am I going to do?"

After the Doctor shut and bolted the door behind him, finally isolating them from the threat of the infected, he rounded on the woman, a fire blazing in his usually warm brown eyes. When he spoke, it was almost a hiss. "Well for starters, you're going to leave that body!" He jabbed a finger at her head. "That psychograft is banned on every civilized planet and you are compressing Persephone to death! Can't you hear her screaming? Can't you feel how much pain she's in? Haven't you learned by now that your incompetence and selfishness are killing her?"

The poor woman was nearly pressed up against the wall by the furious Time Lord, gazing up at him in fear. Of course she felt the pain Percy was in and she did know that the psychograft was slowly killing her, but she just needed the body until she could get out into the city! Then she'd find someone new. Besides, she did promise the young girl she'd get her away from the Doctor, didn't she?

"I can't!" Cassandra had the audacity to pout. "I've got nowhere to go! My original skin's dead!" She shot him a dirty glare, reminding him that it was he that forced her in this predicament in the first place. "Not my problem," he said lowly, feeling no remorse for her situation. Quite frankly, the Doctor couldn't care less whether or not she had anywhere to go. The choices she made in the past were her own to deal with, and now that the consequences had caught up with her, she needed to face them by getting out of Persephone's body! "You can float as atoms in the air. Now get out." His voice dropped even lower and his entire demeanor darkened dangerously. "Give her back to me."

After a moment of hesitation, during which Cassandra gulped in fear, eyes wide and body rigid, the former trampoline slumped back into her usual cocky persona and grumbled "You asked for it." And with a sigh and a cloud of pink particles, her consciousness transferred from Persephone's body to the Doctor's.

Persephone instantly crumpled to the ground as her mind got used to once again being the only inhabitant in her head. She felt the excruciating pressure of Cassandra's presence being lifted like an enormous weight and felt the relief of being in control of her own body. It was a glorious feeling, but it was overrun by a sudden sense of fear and confusion. What had happened? Why had Cassandra taken over her body? What had she done while she was in it? Where was she now? What was going on? 

A groan of pain from a few feet away caused Percy to lift her head and gasp when she saw the Doctor sprawled out on the floor, attempting to push himself onto his feet. But he was moving strangely, not like he had before. It was strangely... feminine.

"Oh goodness me, I'm a man! Yum! So many parts, and hardly used" the Doctor exclaimed in a strange, hi-pitched voice. Then he paused like he was struck and started twitching awkwardly, one hand over his chest. "Oh, baby, I'm beating out a samba!"

Percy was utterly stunned. What the hell... Was that—"Cassandra?" The Doctor stopped his weird movements and turned to the young woman, as if he had only just remembered she was there. But the look in his eyes was different than the Time Lord she knew. It was a look of mischief and selfishness. "Why hello, darling, I didn't even see you there," she said simply, loosening the Doctor's tie a little and popping open two buttons on his shirt. Then, seeing the frightened look on her face, Cassandra continued. "Don't worry, dear, I haven't forgotten about our little arrangement, you're going to be free from this man by day's end, I guarantee it!" Then she turned and jabbed a finger in her direction, eyes narrowing. "But remember your end as well. I need your body to get out of here."

"But... but..." Percy couldn't even form her words. "But how did you do that? Did you possess me? Were you controlling me this whole time? Is that why I don't remember how I got here? Is that why my head hurt so bad?" She finally looked down at herself. "And why did you undress me like this?! Where's my hoodie?" She furiously tugged at the neckline of her tank top, trying to get it back to the level it was before Cassandra pulled it down earlier.

"Oh I got rid of that dreadful thing long ago. You should thank me, really; it did nothing for your figure." Then with a bitchy flick of her wrist, Cassandra turned and started looking around the room. "And yes, I did possess you. It was necessary."

Percy felt the cold hands of panic start to climb up her throat. Her mind was moving so fast, she wasn't even aware at all the thoughts that were running through it. It was all just too much too fast! Too confusing! Too new! Too strange! Too alien! What on earth—no, New Earth—had she gotten herself into?!

The poor girl's breath caught in her lungs and her hearts started to beat painfully against her chest. She slumped against the dirty wall, trying to ground herself, but she could feel that she was on the brink of a panic attack. Fortunately, Cassandra saw this and waltzed over to her---

and slapped her across the face.

She did succeed in wrenching her out of her fear-filled head, but at the same time sent her sprawling to the floor with a large red mark on her left cheek. "Snap out of it, Dearie, we've got work to do! There will be time to panic later!"

*BANG BANG BANG*

Cassandra panicked. "WAAAGH! What do we do?!" The door burst open and a group of the infected slowly started to shamble inside and once they caught sight of the two Time Lords, they stretched their arms out toward them and moaned for them to help. Cassandra backed up to the wall Percy was still up against and latched on to her arm. "What do we do? What would he do? The Doctor, what the hell would he do?" Because even though she hated his guts, Cassandra knew that the Doctor had a knack for getting out of deadly situations.

"I don't know! I don't know," was all Percy could say. After all, she was still on the verge of a mental breakdown! Luckily, she spotted a ladder at one side of the room and figured that would be their best bet of escaping. "We've got to go up," she said shakily, as she made her way over to it. But just as she was about to grasp the rungs, Cassandra shoved past her with a cry of "Out of the way, girlie!" Perch huffed in annoyance but climbed up after her, as the infected were getting closer and closer by the second.

As they climbed, Percy fought all her instincts to look down, as she was terrified of heights. So, to take her mind off the dizzying altitude, she focused on climbing one filthy rung at a time, hand over hand and foot over foot. At last, she asked "Cassandra, what are you doing? Where are we going?"

"Shut up," the woman in the Doctor's body answered. "I'm still figuring it out." "Because it seems," Percy continued. "That instead of taking me away from the Doctor, you've lured him right to me!"

At that, Cassandra stopped climbing and looked down at the girl, a sneer on her face "I said shut up! I know what I'm doing!" "But—" "Look, if you think you can get away from him on your own, then be my guest. Otherwise, just SHUT UP and do as I say!" Then she turned and continued to climb.

But Percy stayed still a moment, completely stunned. She'd never been spoken to that way by anyone in her life! She'd never followed anyone's rules than her own! Was she really going to trust this woman, who possessed her without consent and used her body, to bring her to safety? Well, it seemed she had no choice at the moment, but Persephone was a smart girl, and she knew when enough was enough.

All of a sudden, she cried out in fear and shock as a hand grabbed her ankle and yanked down, causing her to madly scramble for a stronger hold on the ladder. But when she looked down, it was not one of the infected, like she had initially feared, but one of the cat nurses. Her whiskers were bent and skewed, her fur was ruffled and covered in dust and grease, and her habit was torn in several places. "Get off!" Percy wailed, shaking her leg in an attempt to rid her of the cat's furry grasp. "You're going to make me fall!"

"All our good work," the cat woman wheezed. "All that healing. The good name of the Sisterhood! You have destroyed everything!" Cassandra heard the commotion and leant her support by spitting "Go and play with a ball of string!" But the nun ignored her and continued "Everywhere, disease! This is the human world! Sickness!"

Then Persephone watched in horrified fascination and black veins and boils started to bubble up all over her face and neck. The cat woman's mouth peeled back in a terrifying wail as she lost her hold on both Percy's leg and the metal ladder and went plummeting down the shaft, ending with a final bang as she hit the floor.

The young Time Lady's eyes widened in horror as she watched the scene unfold. Thankfully, Cassandra's unsympathetic cry of "Move!" snapped her out of it and they resumed their climb at an even more frantic pace than before, now that they knew the infected could climb ladders!

All of a sudden, after a few more minutes of climbing, Cassandra stopped. "Now what do we do?" she asked, looking down at Percy. Percy looked up to see what the problem was and saw that they had reached the end of the ladder and that the only way out was a metal door. "Open the door," she cried out to her. "I've tried that, dingus! It's locked. C'mon, what would the Doctor do?"

"I don't know!" the young Time Lady screeched, peering down to check the progress of their pursuers. "He probably has some kind of fancy alien tech!" After rummaging around in the Doctor's bigger-on-the-inside pockets for a moment, Cassandra brought out the sonic screwdriver. "You mean this thing?" Percy looked up at it but didn't recognize it. "Maybe, just get the door open!" "I can't do anything in this body; he's hidden away all his thoughts!"

Persephone quickly caught on to what the woman was insinuating. "No." she pleaded. "Don't go back into my head! I can't take that kind of—" But it was too late. The swarm of pink particles flew from the Doctor's body and into Percy's, effectively ending her plea. Immediately, however, she winced as a series of jabbing pains punctured her mind before settling into a throbbing ache.

"Get out of her!"

"Oh hell, here we go again." Cassandra looked up at the Doctor with an unyielding glare of determination. "Open the door!"

The Doctor was beyond furious. Not only had this woman possessed his Amarthin, but she had possessed himself as well! And slapped her! Yes, since he was older and more mentally powerful than Persephone, he was fully conscious when Cassandra was occupying his body (so yeah, the whole 'foxy' monologue a memory he'd fight hard to forget) "No!" he took the sonic and pointed it at her threateningly. "I order you to get out of her!"

"Ugh, fine!" the cloud moved bodies again and once more Cassandra was inside the Doctor's mind. "No matter how difficult the situation, there is no need to shout!" she immediately declared. While she was grateful for Cassandra to be out of her head, poor Persephone was nearly hyperventilating in terror as she watched the infected get closer and closer by the second. "Cassandra stop it!" she cried. "You're going to kill us both!"

Well she did have a point there, Cassandra did have to admit. What could she do? She couldn't go into the Doctor because she didn't know how to open the door, and she couldn't go into Persephone because the Doctor made it clear he'd rip her head off if she did! Ugh. There was only one thing she could do.

"Oh, I'm so going to regret this..." The pink mist once more left the Doctor's body and flew downwards. But it passed by Persephone and flew straight into the nearest infected woman, who was about five feet away from the two. "Oh sweet lord!" she immediately exclaimed, running her eyes over her new hideously grotesque body. "I look disgusting!"

As soon as Cassandra was out of his mind and he was once again in control of his actions, he took the sonic, opened the door, and jumped through. When he was on the other side, he turned and reached for Percy's hand, which she took in her terror and leftover mental pain.

But before she could steady herself, Cassandra's pink mist flew one more time and settled once again in poor Persephone, causing her to crumple to the ground in anguish.

The Doctor, though, was livid. He stormed up to her and yanked her to her feet. "That was your last warning, Cassandra! Get out of her! You are KILLING her!" But the woman's eyes were far off and glassy. She seemed... conflicted. "Inside their head," she started, her voice uncharacteristically frail. "They're so alone. They keep reaching out, just to hold us. All their lives, they've never been touched."

Her moment of tenderness made the Time Lord pause for a moment before he grasped her by the shoulders until she met his eyes. They were still dark and dangerous, but there was a definite hint of sympathy in his brown orbs. "Get out of her body," he said steadily. "And we'll fix this together."

But Cassandra just stepped out of his hold and sighed. "I can't! I'm mentally exhausted. If I try to jump again... I'd fade away." The Doctor clenched his fists, that sympathy gone. "While I understand your desire to survive, I do not understand and I will not except that you will do so at the expense of the life of a young woman. That's cruel, Cassandra--"

"I know!" The woman's sudden outburst yielded to a brief silence between them. "I know I'm killing her. And I'm truly sorry about that. But I'm not strong enough to leave her yet. Give me time, Doctor, and I should have enough energy for one last jump."

The Doctor knew that was as good as a deal as he could get and he loathed himself for letting this situation get so bad. "Alright," he said with great difficulty. "But please let me strengthen her mental walls so that her own consciousness is protected." Cassandra nodded and the Doctor approached her, reaching out with his hands, and resting his fingers on her temples. When she felt the presence of him in her mind, Cassandra gasped softly. But the Time Lord ignored her and focused on creating a temporary blockade around Persephone's compressed mind, ensuring that it will remain undamaged and in the least amount of pain possible until he could figure this mess out.

At last, he drew back and gazed hard at Cassandra. The infected had made it to the door, so it was high time they booked it out of there. "Come on," he said, already making his way toward the exit. "Let's figure out what's going on up here."


	20. Justice and Mercy

The two finally made it back to Ward 26, the white light of the bulbs above and the sunlight streaming through the windows contrasting severely with the dimness of the Intensive Care Unit, momentarily blinding them. But they were forced out of their surprise by Frau Clovis, assistant to the Duke of Manhattan, who charged at them with a stool and a very un-ladylike battle cry. 

"We're safe!" the Doctor shouted, instinctively positioning himself in front of Persephone with his arms stretched out. "We're clean! Look, look!" Her stern face never wavering, Clovis demanded "Show me your skin." The Doctor and Cassandra both were eager to comply, pushing back their sleeves (Well, the Doctor did. Percy was wearing a camisole). "Look, clean!" the Doctor continued. "If we'd been touched, we'd be dead." That seemed to be sufficient proof, and the woman lowered the stool back to the ground, straightening her jacket and smoothing back her hair, attempting to regain the dignity she lost by that barbaric display.

Once the threat of being bludgeoned to death by a stool was placated, the Doctor stepped away from Percy, shoving his hands in his pockets and assessing his surroundings. "So how's it going up here? What's the status?" All around, beds that were once filled with patients were now primarily empty, with their former occupants pressed up against a door at the far end of the ward, including the Duke himself (who, quite frankly, seemed to be single-handedly holding it closed, thanks to his weight.) 

But it was clear Frau Clovis was agitated. "There's nothing but silence from the other wards," she said. "I think we're the only ones left." She then pulled out a mobile telecommunications device from her pocket and walked toward the window. "I've been trying to override the quarantine. If I can trip a signal over to New New York, then they can send a private executive squad." But her confidence in her plan was shattered by the Doctor, who immediately snapped "You can't do that. If they force entry, they'll break quarantine." A snarl was on the woman's face as she clutched the device in her hand. "I'm not dying in here!" "We can't let a single particle of disease get out. There is ten million people in that city. They'd all be at risk! Now turn that off!" But she was unwavering. "Not if it gets me out."

The Doctor couldn't believe it! How could a species so kind, courageous, and brilliant at the same time be so damn selfish? He stood in shock for a moment, gaping in disgust at the woman before saying lowly "Alright fine." He had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from shouting at her. "So I have to stop you lot as well. Suits me." Then he turned and gestured to Cassandra. "Persephone, Novice Hame, everyone!" At the sound of his authoritative voice amongst the chaos, all heads turned toward him. The Doctor was already moving, gathering up a thick piece of silk rope from the Duke's cubicle and draping it over his body. "Get me the intravenous solutions for every single disease. Move it!" 

The ward was a whirlwind of action as each patient and visitor went and collected the iv pouches from bedsides and handed them one by one to the Doctor, who, with Cassandra's help, hooked them to the rope until it looked like he was wearing colorful pouch-armor. "How's that? Will that do?" The Doctor was checking each bag, making sure they were fastened properly and would not fall off, which would be catastrophic for his plan. Cassandra, not understanding one iota of what was going on, responded cluelessly. "I don't know. Will it do for what?" But the Time Lord ignored her, partly because it was a rhetorical question, partly because he didn't have time for her whininess, and partly because it pained him to look at his Amarthin knowing it was someone else looking out of her eyes.

He rushed over to the lift and, seeing that it was out of commission due to the quarantine, wedged his fingers in the gap between the doors and pried them apart. Clutching the wall, he took a step forward and looked down the shaft. He gulped. After his fourth death, he couldn't say he was too fond of heights. But it had to be done if he was going to save his bonded. Oh-- and the city, of course! 

"The lifts aren't working," Cassandra informed helpfully, coming up from behind him, though keeping a safe distance from the drop off. "Not moving," the Doctor replied, smoothing out the details of his plan in his head. "Different thing." Then, mustering up every bit of courage he could, he put his fears aside, stuck the sonic between his teeth, backed up a few feet, and then made a running jump, latching onto the cable like a monkey on a vine and immediately getting to work fastening a winch to it. 

"What do you think you're doing?!" Cassandra cried, running up to the edge. Removing the sonic from his teeth, he called over to her "I'm going down! Come on!" It took a moment for Cassandra's quite slow brain to grasp the situation. "Wha—Not in a million years!" She was just about to turn and head back to the ward, but the Doctor stopped her: "If we're going to make it out, I need another pair of hands." He paused and raised an eyebrow at her. "What do you think? If you're so desperate to stay alive, why don't you live a little?" 

He could see the turmoil in the woman's eyes, but just when it seemed that she was about to run away anyway, Frau Clovis' voice pierced the air, shouting "Seal the door!" Poor Cassandra whipped around just in time to see the doors to ward 26 closing, leaving her with only one alternative if she didn't want to be caught by the infected: join the Doctor. So with a very un-ladylike whine of discontent, she took a running start and leapt into the lift shaft, the Doctor catching her around the waist.

"You're completely mad!" Cassandra cried. "No wonder she doesn't feel safe around you!" The Time Lord ignored the stabbing pain in his hearts and called "Going down!" Then he released the brake on the wheel and the two went plummeting down at break-neck speed, the Doctor whooping with glee and Cassandra screaming in terror. At last, they came to a gentle stop right on top of the lift, Cassandra releasing her death grip on his shirt as the poor Doctor tried to gain his hearing back from her screaming directly into his ear. "Well that's one way to lose weight," the woman declared, tugging her shirt back down from where it had ridden up. 

But the Doctor was already back to business, sonicking the compartment that contained the fluids for the disinfecting process and then one by one detaching the iv bags from the rope. Cassandra watched with a mixture of interest and disgust as he then proceeded to tear each one open with his teeth and pour them in. "What are you doing," she couldn't help but ask. She wasn't offering to help (God, no!) she was just interested. But the Doctor ignored her as he finished with the last one. 

When he was done, he stood and wiped his hands on his jacket. "Now, listen," he commanded, looking her dead in the eyes. "When I say so, take hold of that leaver." He then bent down and opened the hatch to the lift, peering down inside. "But there's still a quarantine down there, we can't—" "Hold that lever!" Cassandra recoiled in shock for a moment, eyes wide in surprise at his sharp outburst. But the Doctor didn't have time to think about it. "I've cooked up a cocktail." He smiled sarcastically. "I know a bit about medicine myself. Now, that lever's going to resist, but keep it in position. Hold onto it with everything you've got." Cassandra gripped the lever with both hands, though when she saw the Doctor begin to crouch down near the hatch, she asked "What about you?"

The Doctor spared her one last glance before saying "I've got an appointment. The Doctor is in!" Then, tucking his arms in close, he dropped into the lift, sonicking the doors. They opened to reveal the lobby of the hospital, where dozens of the infected had congregated, sitting hopeless and abandoned. But at the sound of a voice calling "I'm in here! Come on!" they looked up in curiosity and began to swarm toward the lift, a beaming Doctor inside. "Pull that lever!" He cried up at Cassandra. The woman pulled at the lever with all her might, as the Doctor wasn't wrong when he said it would resist. She couldn't see what was going on inside the lift, but she could hear the Time Lord's joyous shouts drawing the infected closer. 

"Commence stage one disinfection," the tannoy said, and immediately all of the cures for the diseases came pouring down upon the infected, sizzling on their skin but leaving it clear and new. "That's it! The Doctor cried, jumping up and down like an infant. "All they want to do is pass it on! Pass it on!" "Pass on what? Pass on what?" Poor Cassandra cried through gritted teeth, wanting to see what was going on, but afraid of the Doctor's wrath if she let go of the lever before he told her to. "Come and see," came the response. 

Taking that as her queue to let go of the lever, she peered down into the lift, where the Doctor stood with arms outstretched toward her, sopping wet but with a grin so bright it could have powered all of New New York. Cassandra took his hands and let him set her down onto the ground, where she immediately shook him off and straightened her clothes. "What did you do," she asked, peering out of the doors. "Did you kill them? All of them?" 

"Nah! That's your way of doing things" the Time Lord said, strolling confidently out of the lift. The two made their way past the formerly infected who were embracing each other, grasping each other's hands, and spreading the cure. "I'm the Doctor and I cured them." One of the newly healed women stumbled up to him with all the innocence of a newborn baby and wrapped her arms around him. The Time Lord responded immediately, hugging her back before slowly coaxing her over to the other patients. His soul was full at that moment, and he was drunk on the joy of having helped people like that girl. 

He tried to remain humble—he really did! But it's a little hard when you're responsible for saving planets on a daily basis! "New humans!" he exclaimed. "Look at them! Grown by cats, kept in the dark, but completely, completely alive!" He then whirled on Cassandra, though his grin never faltered. "You can't deny them, because you helped create them. The human race just keeps on going, keeps on changing! Life will out! Ha!"

Cassandra saw how tenderly the Doctor handled that girl and she saw in his ancient eyes an unbound joy at being able to help others. This was not at all the Doctor she had planned on exacting revenge on. Although... perhaps he never was the cold-hearted, merciless, killer she had made him out to be. Perhaps, back on Platform One when his face was different (she still needed to figure out how that was), he wasn't being cruel and selfish when he foiled her plans and let her die, he instead was helping in any way he could to save as many people as possible, he just couldn't save her. And for the longest time, she had resented the fact that that blasted Time Lord had taken the role of judge, jury, and executioner upon himself for (she had believed) his own amusement. 

But now, watching as he went to as many of the formerly infected as he could, accepting their hugs, checking their vitals, and just spreading a general aura of comfort and safety, she realized that those roles were a heavy burden that the Doctor alone had the strength, wisdom, and capability to bear. No one else in the universe would be able to hold that much power without abusing it. 

But she had been inside his mind, and while she couldn't access any of his memories, she could sense his general emotions. He was suffering deep withing his soul, his hearts aching over a loss so great that it felt as if it would never heal. Cassandra didn't know what could have possibly caused such a feeling, but it was far too much for her to bear to dwell on, so she quickly shut them out. 

But then there was Persephone. When the Doctor found out she had been possessing her, there was a pain and a protective anger in his eyes that burned so dangerously that Cassandra wondered if that man and the man she was currently watching were the same. But who was Persephone to him? She didn't really seem to be a love interest, as far as she could tell. No, this seemed much deeper than that. But how did all this fit in with Persephone's desperation to be taken away from the Doctor? How could it be that he seems to know her and need her to the extent that Cassandra was sure he'd commit murder for her, and yet to Persephone he's a total and complete stranger?

Cassandra felt a small stab of pain shoot through her skull, making her wince and bring her hand to her head. Across the room, the Doctor felt her discomfort and was immediately by her side. "Are you alright?" he asked. Cassandra didn't meet his eyes, but nodded all the same. 

All of a sudden, the metal shudders that had covered all the windows and exits during the quarantine were removed, causing sunlight to stream through. Police officers in uniforms streamed out of shuttles and into the lobby, carrying weapons and wearing masks. An official of over a loudspeaker announced "This is the NNYPD. Please step away from the shuttles." Then the tannoy added "All staff will present themselves to the officers for immediate arrest. I repeat, immediate arrest. All new life forms will be catalogued and taken into care. All visitors to the hospital will be required to make a statement to the NNYPD."

"The Face of Boe!" The Doctor once again whirled into action, sprinting back to Ward 26, where the only other occupant was the giant head in its big glass tank. But unlike earlier, this time Boe was awake, his enormous eyes open and alert. The Doctor slowed as he neared, and then knelt down beside the tank, placing his hand on the glass. He smiled softly, almost teasingly. "You were supposed to be dying." The Face of Boe spoke, but instead of with his voice, he responded telepathically with matching amusement. "There are better things to do today. Dying can wait."

Cassandra rubbed hear ears in agitation, not liking telepathy. "Ooh just what I needed," she whined. "A head full of big-face." The Doctor turned to face her "Well how do you think Percy feels, hmm? With a head full of trampoline-face?" Cassandra just scowled and turned away.

The Doctor turned back to the tank when Boe continued "I have grown tired with the universe, Doctor, but you have taught me to look at it anew." The Doctor's voice was almost teasing as he responded "There are legends, you know. Saying that you're millions of years old." If Boe could have smiled, the Doctor was sure he would. "There are? That would be impossible."

Out of habit, the Time Lord glanced over his shoulder to make sure Persephone—well, Cassandra-- was still nearby and not in trouble. But he quickly turned back to the tank, startled at what Boe said next: "Do not worry about Percy. Though she is very young, she is strong of mind and hearts. She is confused, scared, and wary of everything, especially you, Doctor. But we know that it will not last." 

The Doctor hung his head and was silent for a moment as he tried to wrap his head around how Boe could possibly speak about Percy as if she was a good friend of his. After all, when he first met the big face on Platform one, that had been years before either of them knew Percy even existed! But he decided to let it slide for now, chalking it up to the strange and mysterious wisdom of the Face of Boe. 

"I'm trying," he mumbled at last. "I'm trying to be there for her as she discovers who she is, but..." he raised his head to meet Boe's eyes. "...she wants nothing to do with me." There was a deep pain in the Time Lord's eyes. "You fear being rejected," the great face said at last, astonishing the Doctor once again. "You fear having the only other Time Lord in existence—your own Amarthin, no less—hating and fearing you. Yes, you desire to keep her close in order to protect her from the cruelties and dangers of the world, but you need her as well. You've lived a good and noble life, but with the destruction of your home planet, you have never been more alone. There is a gap in your hearts that no companion but Persephone can fill."

The Doctor remained silent, slowly coming to terms with the wisdom behind the words Boe just spoke, but also fighting to accept his own feelings in regards to them. At last, he lifted his head, resolving to consider the matter more thoroughly at a later date. "I got the impression there was something you wanted to tell me."

The Face of Boe understood the Doctor's inner turmoil and did not press the conversation any further. "A great secret," he teased. "So the legend says." Boe smiled inwardly. "It can wait." The Doctor, in all of his 904-year-old glory, pouted like a child. "Oh does it have to?" But Boe did not relent. "We shall meet again, Doctor. For the third time. For the last time. And the truth shall be told. Until that day." Then, with a flash of light, the face of Boe was transmatted away.

The Doctor rocked back on his heels, stunned. "That is enigmatic." He couldn't help but marvel. "That is- that is textbook enigmatic!" He then stood and turned toward Cassandra. "And now for you."

Cassandra, who had wandered away to the windows (still pouting over his trampoline comment), turned with panic in her eyes. "But everything's happy. Everything's fine. Can't you just leave me?" The Doctor shook his head sadly but sternly. "You've lived long enough. Leave that body, Cassandra. You made a deal with me, remember? That once you were ready for one last jump, you'd leave Persephone's body." His eyes started to grow more intense. "Don't you remember the pain your presence is causing her? Do you still not understand that Time Lord children are fragile and their minds extremely vulnerable? You promised, Cassandra. End it."

But Cassandra wasn't ready to give up and she pulled out her last card. "But I made a deal with the girl too! I promised that I would get her away from you, the man who she says kidnapped her and is saying she's an alien when she says she's not!" The Doctor's hearts clenched at the reminder of Percy's hatred toward him, but his resolve to save her nonetheless never wavered in the slightest. "Then your promise was made on false grounds. I know she hates me, but what I am doing is for her own good. She is a Time Lord, one of only two left in the entire universe. Her development and mental health depend on me. She will literally die if I abandon her! You've been inside my mind and you've been inside hers. We're not human, Cassandra. And if you take—if you try to take her away from me—(which will not bode well for you)-- then she will die a slow, agonizing, lonely death. And I will soon follow."

Tears had formed in the woman's eyes as all the distain she had ever felt for the man before her melted away into pure empathy. She still didn't fully understand their circumstances, but Cassandra had always been a great judge of character and could sense liars from a mile away. And as she looked at the Doctor, with his wide brown eyes on the verge of tears, set jaw and clenched fists, still sopping wet from having just saved the world, she knew he was telling the truth. 

"You—I—" she couldn't seem to formulate her words. "I don't want to die," she settled on at last. "No one does." "Help me!" The Doctor shook his head. "I can't." But just when Cassandra was about to beg on her knees, Chip appeared in all his blue-Gollum glory. "Mistress!"

Cassandra turned toward her servant with delight, as she had actually bonded with the strange creature during her time in the hospital. "Oh, you're alive!" Chip looked so proud of himself. "I kept myself safe for you, Mistress!" Quickly, a plan was forming in Cassandra's (well, Percy's) mind. "A body... And not just that, a volunteer!" But the Doctor caught on almost immediately and was just as fast shooting the plan down. "Don't you dare! He's got a life of his own!" But chip looked at him with his wide eyes that were so alive with adoration for the woman as he explained "But I worship the mistress. I welcome her." But the Time Lord wasn't ready to let the matter go. "You can't, Cassandra! You—"

But the pink mist had already flown from Percy's body and into Chips, causing both him and Percy to collapse. While Chip didn't have anyone to catch him, the Doctor immediately stopped Percy's fall, catching her and then lowering her to the ground. She didn't wake up, which scared the Doctor into perhaps thinking she had been killed. But through their bond, he could feel that she was still alive, just unconscious from all of the strain on her mind, and he let out a huge sigh of relief. He gathered her up into his arms and then moved over to one of the empty hospital beds, where he gently laid her down again. When he was sure once again that she would soon wake up, he turned back to Cassandra, who was now whining over hew new body.

"Oh, sweet Lord!" she exclaimed. "I'm a walking doodle." The Doctor tried one last time to make her see reason. "You can't stay in there. I'm sorry, Cassandra, but that's not fair. I can take you to the city. They can build you a skin tank and you can stand trial for what you've done." But still, the woman didn't seem to grasp the seriousness of their situation. "Well that would be rather dramatic. Possibly my finest hour. And certainly my finest hat." She reached up and touched the funny little cap atop her head. But when her arms dropped, her face was solemn and her eyes grave. "But I'm afraid we don't have time. Poor little Chip is only a half-life, and he's already been through so much." She put a hand over her heart. "His heart is racing so. He's failing. I—I don't think he's going to last." 

And he didn't. Immediately, Chip's body began to die, and with it, Cassandra. She fell to her knees, where the Doctor was quick to help support her. "Are you alright," he asked, concern in his wide brown eyes. There was a strange expression on the woman's face, a mixture of fear, sadness, and pain, but also relief and acceptance. "I'm fine," she said at last, voice growing weaker and weaker. "I'm dying, but that's fine." But the Doctor wasn't ready to give up. So many people had died already, and even though he still was not very fond of the 'Last Human,' he didn't want to see her die when there was something he could do about it. "I can take you to the city—" "No, you won't. Everything's new on this planet. There's no place for Chip and me anymore. You're right, Doctor. It's time to die..." She looked up at him with glassy eyes. "And that's good."

The Time Lord sat there for a moment before a plan formed in his mind; one more moment of happiness he could give to this dying woman. "Come on. There's one last thing I can do." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The Tardis materialized in a dark corner of a dimly lit hallway, though just around the corner, the sounds of a rowdy party could be heard. After the Doctor had made sure Persephone would be alright and was settled back in her room to sleep off the nasty aftereffects of the psychograft, he wrapped Cassandra in a shawl and lead her out of the machine. 

Cassandra was more than a little confused and even concerned. Was he going to turn her in to the authorities? Was he going to torment her as revenge for hurting his friend? But these fears were immediately placated when she heard a familiar voice. Her voice. Hobbling forward, tears began to well at the sight of the last party she had ever attended in her true human form. She saw the handsome men, the pretty women, the fancy drinks, the music, the lights, the luxury. And she saw herself, tall, golden-haired and beautiful, in the center of it all.

"Thank you," the current Cassandra whispered to the Doctor. He only offered a small smile back, nudging her forward and saying "Just go. And don't look back."

He turned to leave, but was stopped by Cassandra, who said "You know, Persephone may be afraid of you now, but I've been inside her head. She knows, deep within herself, that she's safe with you and that with you is where she is supposed to be. But she's scared. She's never been loved before in her entire life and all of this sudden attention, care, and kindness causes her great anxiety. She's special, Doctor. But she's damaged. And I feel that you are just the doctor she needs." She hesitated, and then added "I know I swore to take her away from you, and I always intend on keeping my promises. But in this case, I don't think I will. For both your sakes." 

The Doctor didn't move for a moment, mind completely swamped with the words Cassandra just spoke. But eventually, without another goodbye, he turned and re-entered the Tardis, leaving the Last Human to die happy in the arms of her former self.


	21. Emotional Support

The Doctor closed the Tardis doors behind him and leaned heavily against one of the tall coral structures, feeling absolutely exhausted. This was so not how he envisioned Persephone's first trip with him! All he wanted was a nice, calm outing to a hospital where they could determine her true biology, not some high-stakes adventure with zombie-people, evil cat nuns, a plague, and a bitchy trampoline who could possess people!

What was Jackie going to say when she found out about this? She was going to slap him into his next regeneration! He promised to take care of the girl she had grown to love and all he had done was terrify her! And what about Percy herself? What was she going to think when she woke up from the after-effects of the psychograft? She was going to hate him!

"You think I'm going to give this poor girl back to you, the very man that she pleaded for me to help her escape from? No!" The words of Cassandra came into his mind and stabbed his hearts. Of course, he always knew that her mind would repel against his due to her suppressed biology, but he had never envisioned it would be this bad! Over the course of their adventure on New Earth, he got to see, over and over again, the full extent of the damage caused by her separation from any other Time Lords.

This was bad. This was really, really bad. He needed help and quick. But where could he go? Gallifrey was destroyed, so there was no help coming from the Time Lords. No other species had anything remotely similar, so he couldn't go to any of them. And as far as he knew, there weren't even any books written on the matter because the bond was so sacred!

The poor alien slowly trudged up to the consul of his beloved spaceship and gave it a soft pat. Immediately, he heard the familiar hum of her silent voice and felt her presence brush up against his mind. "What do I do, old girl?" he asked forlornly, running his hand over a few switches. He knew she was listening and he knew she shared his pain.

The Tardis hummed back comfortingly. As a craft that was engineered to link with her pilot, she wanted nothing more than for the Doctor to be happy. And since she was programmed on Gallifrey, she knew that this happiness could only come from Persephone, his Amarthin.

As a Type 40 Tardis, she really was an 'old girl', since her kind had been retired several decades before her pilot had even found her. So she had gone to many places and had seen many things before her 'Thief' stole her. And during that time, she had seen many Time Lords and Ladies meet their bondeds and settle down.

But she had also seen how the breaking of the bond was deadly. During the Gallifreyan-Sontaran Wars that took place during the presidency of Armallius, she had been assigned to a small platoon to serve as a medical vessel and she was forced to watch as hundreds of Time Lords passed through her doors. She quickly realized that there were two types of patients that were being treated: the first were soldiers who had been injured by enemy fire. These usually either recovered relatively quickly or regenerated. But the second were different. These Time Lords and Ladies rarely had any physical wounds on them that were life threatening or proportional to the utter state of agony that they were in.

These patients never made it.

The Tardis quickly discovered that these latter Time Lords were suffering from the deaths of their Amarthins. In many cases, the person in question was just going about their duties before they collapsed in horrendous pain and an overwhelming feeling of gut-wrenching grief. She could only watch as these otherwise healthy men and women begged and pleaded for the release of death before slowly fading away, never allowing themselves to regenerate in the hopes that they could be reunited with their bondeds in the stars. It was then that the Tardis realized the extent of the impact that this sacred soul-bond had on Time Lords.  
And now, thousands of years later, the rift between Persephone and her pilot scared her more than anything in the world. The horrific thought that this very unhealthy bond could result in the two creatures that she loved more than anything in the entire universe dying caused her to tremble in dread. While she knew little to nothing about Percy, she could pretty well infer that such a separation was going to catch up to her sooner rather than later, no matter how independent she thought she was. And as for the Doctor, the Tardis knew that he would waste away from self-loathing and heart break, should anything happen to her.

But she would never allow this to happen. But what could she do? She could hear in his mind that the Doctor was tossing around the idea of letting Percy go. He thought that he was the source of his young bonded's anxiety and fear and was at his wits end trying to figure out what to do! But that would be suicide for both of them! The Tardis needed help. And fast.

So after the The Doctor trudged out of the consul room toward his workshop in order to make Percy a super-biodampener, the Tardis took matters into her own metaphorical hands and set a course for the Powell Estate.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Jackie Tyler had just finished applying the final coat of hot pink polish to her fingernails when the flat was filled with the familiar grating sound of the Tardis engines, a sound she had not heard in over eight months. Her head whipped to the side to see the box materialize in the corner of the room, barely scraping the ceiling. In an instant, she was on her feet and rushing toward the blue doors, a furious look on her face. She wrenched them open and peered inside. It was empty. "Oi," she hissed sharply. "Doctor!"

There was no response and she was about to march inside to drag his sorry butt out, when the alien in question entered the consul room with a bewildered look on his face. "Jackie," he asked as he rounded the consul, looking at her quizzically. "What are you doing here? How did you get in? What—" And then it dawned on him and he turned to glare at the time rotor like a parent would to his child. "Did you bring us to Rose's flat? Why would you do that?" The only response he got was a sharp hum in his mind as if the Tardis was saying 'I regret nothing!' The Doctor sighed, shook his head, but then turned to look at the woman, smiling brightly. "Sorry about that. Have we landed in your sitting room again?"

It was a good act he was putting up, Jackie observed. His expertly schooled expression of relaxation and contentment, toothy grin, and energetic aura would have probably fooled anyone else, but not her. Contrary to the Doctor's not-so-secret beliefs, Jackie Tyler was not a stupid woman. If anything, her instincts as a mother sharpened her skills of observation when it came to people's inner emotions and thoughts. And (though she'd throw herself off the tallest building she could find before ever admitting it) she had begun to see the Doctor as one of her own. Lord knows he needed someone to look out for him when the demands of the universe caught up with him! But if he thought he could fool her, he was in for a surprise!

Jackie looked at the Time Lord, who was currently trying to figure out how and when his time machine had moved without him knowing, and glanced over him with a critical eye. No, she realized with a sinking heart, all previous anger vanishing. He was not okay at all. Now that he wasn't focused on his 'act,' she could see the way his shoulders hunched as if there was an impossibly large weight resting on them. His right shoe was untied and his clothes were rumpled and in some places stained with what looked to be some kind of oil. The same substance was also smeared on his hands and a spot along his cheek. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were downcast and tired. And to top it all off, his usually immaculately-kept hair was partly matted, with one big cow lick on the side.

Jackie leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms. "What happened since you left," she asked gently. "Did you go to a hospital to get Percy's species sorted out?" The Time Lord landed one swift kick to the Tardis in retaliation for her stubbornness before turning to the woman, stuffing his hands pockets. "Yep," he said. "Gonna have to go back in a bit to pick up the results, but yeah. The tests all went smoothly. Very, very smoothly." His words were carefully chosen, but the slight tremor in his voice hinted at a different story than the one he was telling. But he skittered to the opposite side of the consul and out of view before she could get a better read.

"But it's more than that," she pressed. "Something happened. What was it?" Though she couldn't see him, she could hear that the Doctor wasn't moving. Even his hands, which usually never relaxed, were still. Something was very not right. "Is it Percy?" Her voice started to grow frantic. "Is she alright? Is she okay? She's still here, isn't she?" She started up the ramp and further into the Tardis but the Doctor intercepted her, holding his hands out to placate the woman who was bordering on what he called 'the Wrath of Jackie Tyler.' He usually tried to avoid it at all costs, as it usually resulted in him being slapped across the face.

"She's fine! She's fine. Just sleeping for now. Just exhausted after the effects of the..." He gulped, his eyes shifty. "She's fine." There was no hiding it now. Something had happened. Something that had effected the Doctor in a very negative way. And she was going to find out what it was. "Doctor," she said softly. He wouldn't meet her eyes. "Is Persephone okay?"

He sighed, giving up on trying to fool her. All at once, it seemed as if everything that had happened over the last few weeks caught up with him and threatened to send him on a steep downward spiral of depression and self loathing. "Physically," he said, "she's fine. Mentally..." He sighed. "A lot happened to her while we were gone, Jackie. It didn't exactly go as planned and I'm afraid that it scarred Percy to a new level of fear and mistrust. Toward myself, and therefore toward what I'm trying to do for her."

The human woman pursed her lips and thought for a moment before saying "I'll tell you what. Where is she now?" "Sleeping." "Alright, you go get cleaned up. You're a completely disaster and I don't want whatever that greasy stuff is on your clothes in my house. Then by the time you're done, I'll have a nice pot of tea on and we can talk about what happened." She paused. "Is that why you came here? Did you need some emotional support?" The words were not said unkindly, but the Doctor made it clear (for his own pride's sake) that no, he did not. She only nodded and went to put the kettle on.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

By the time he returned to the consul room, changed and washed, (he had been horrified that someone had seen him with his hair so messed up) he could smell the scent of some kind of herbal tea wafting through the Tardis. Strange, the interior of his time machine should be completely separate from the outside world when the doors were shut.

Well the doors were not shut. Turns out Jackie had propped up a pillow in the doorway to, as she put it, "Stop you from sneaking off without letting me know." He didn't exactly see how a pillow would stop him, since he could have just pushed it out of the way, but he didn't challenge her on it.

A moment later, the two were seated at the kitchen table cradling mugs of hot tea, the Doctor letting the warm steam caress his face and Jackie watching him closely. "So what happened?" She asked at last. "Tell me everything." So he did. He told her about the hospital on New Earth, the cat nuns and their terrible secret, and their cure for every disease. He explained about Cassandra, one of his old enemies, and how she had possessed Percy (and himself) and had made some kind of promise to her to take her away from him after she had gotten her revenge. He then started a whole rant about how he tried, tried, tried to get Cassandra to understand that a time tot's mind was incredibly vulnerable and that what she was doing was literally killing her,mouth that she just wouldn't listen. When he calmed down a little, he explained that while he managed to save the entire hospital, the new humans, and Percy, Cassandra had died. Lastly, he narrated the very similar words that both Cassandra and the Face of Boe had told him.

"Well perhaps they were right," Jackie said at last, finally understanding why he had been acting so strangely when she greeted him in the Tardis. "Think about it: they're from the future, right? Maybe they know you two and know that she comes 'round eventually!" But the Time Lord sighed. "They wouldn't do that. You can't just reveal things about the future to someone who hasn't lived it yet. It's part of the laws of time." "Well maybe you knowing this will steer the future into what it needs to be." He stopped at those words. "That was quite deep, Jackie." The woman just sat back in her chair and giggled to herself. "I surprise myself sometimes."  
After a period of silence, Jackie spoke again. "So what are you gonna do now?" The Doctor shrugged. "Ive started work making her a biodampener so that she won't react so severely when she's apart from me. Only issue is, these dampeners work by blocking off certain part of your consciousness. If I try to make one strong enough that we can be galaxies away (like I believe she wants) it would have to block a huge amount of her mind, likely rendering her completely unable to function on her own. She'll have little to no sense of the outside world, hardly any coherent thoughts, and zero logical reasoning. That's how powerful the dampener needs to be to cover up this kind of bond."

Jackie gave him a look like she could see inside his soul. "But you're not going to do that." It was a statement, not a question. If she knew anything about the alien seated before her, it was that he would do anything in his power to help others. And from what it seemed, it appeared that letting Percy go was not the right thing to do. Sure, everyone had their own free will and others should respect their choices, but this (strange as it may seem to humans) was a matter of life and death. Not just for Percy, but for the Doctor too. So the question to be asked is how far individual choice can go before intervention is needed.

"I wouldn't be able to live with the knowledge that she hates me," he answered at last. He leaned his elbows on the table and dug his hands in his hair. Jackie could hear the strain and inner turmoil as he spoke. "I want to help her, God, I do! And I know that for both of our sakes the right thing to do is keep her with me, but I don't want her to hate me, Jackie. What kind of Amarthin would I be then?" "One that protects his bonded." The human woman still couldn't claim to fully understand this whole Time Lord soul mate thing, but she did recognize the Doctor's intentions as pure and the alternative to be deadly. The Doctor raised his weary eyes to look at her, shocked.  
However, before he could respond, the sound of the front door opening made them both freeze.

"Mum! I'm home!"


End file.
